


Midnight Walks and Whispered Thoughts

by Farquad



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, Humor, Light Angst, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, POV Remus Lupin, Pining, Potions, Pranks, Quidditch, Romance, Slow Build, Stargazing, Tickling, Truth or Dare, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-22 00:28:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 80,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12469424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farquad/pseuds/Farquad
Summary: Remus finds himself entangled in confusing drama, evil bullies and unsuspected romance when a week in his fourth year takes a different turn.Now; how is Remus supposed to deal with his friends, enemies and feelings during full week of surprises?But at the end of the seventh day Remus can't say that he's disappointed with the outcome...





	1. Day one

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a blast writing this love story so I hope you'll like it as well.  
> But be aware of the tons of drama, love and fights ahead...
> 
> Hope you like it!
> 
> (All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling and not me.  
> English is not my first language so if anything sounds funny that's why.  
> This chapter was inspired by a chapter from the amazing fic Casting Moonshadows.)
> 
> With that said, here we go! :D

**_Day one_ **

"Ow." Remus groaned from where he lay in the darkness of the alcove deep under the castle, trapped in the Slytherin dungeons.

But his effort to make a sound was useless. No one could hear him, or more like he couldn't make any sounds. He had gotten a Petrificus Totalus spell aimed at him well before he was dragged over to lie hidden in the dark alcove on the damp stone floor.

The stone tiles were so cold Remus wanted to scream but it wouldn't do any good even to try to make a sound. Every muscle in his body was locked and the only thing he could do was to desperately move his eyes from one side to another as he with his very last ounce of emery tried to make his body obey him.

The freezing cold easily seeped through his clothes and froze him into the very marrow of his bones. He couldn't even shudder to try to keep warm. Remus mentally sighed when he realized that he was probably going to freeze to death tonight.

He now felt stupid for having left his three friends in the Great Hall after dinner. Remus had told them he had to pick up a book in the library which he would need for his essay on the accio-spell and after receiving approving nods from his three friends he had then begun walking towards the library.

Totally lost in his thoughts he had not heard the approaching footsteps coming towards him from every angle. Out of nowhere he felt himself being ambushed by a group of bigger students that pushed him to lay crouched on the ground. Remus had dared a glance through his fringe and noted that his ambushers were all older Slytherins. Defeated he realized that Rosier, Crouch, Avery and Snape only was a couple of them.

A great amount of punches, kicks and blood later Remus found himself laying hidden in the darkness of the alcove. He had fought back for the best he could but since he ambush had surprised him he hadn't had any time to pick up his wand from his pocket and even though he would have to admit to being a good fighter he would be in the down position without his wand.

If Remus would guess he would say that he had been stuck here for about one hour, although he could not be certain since it was pitch black in the alcove. The smell of mold made him want to vomit but even that was impossible due to the Perificus Totalus.

Remus had no other choice but to pray that his three friends soon would find him missing and then proceed to search for him on the map, but he had waited for his friends to find him for over an hour already and now his hope begun to falter. When he thought back to it he had heard James say something about 'Quidditch Practice' at dinner, and the Remus remembered that Peter had said something about 'Taking a quick detour to Honeydukes'.

Remus hope faltered even more when he thought back to what Sirius had told them at dinner. He now remembered watching Sirius lean back in his chair as he not-so-subtle winked to a passing Hufflepuff fifth year before he turned his attention back to his friends to tell that he was going to 'Find her later.'

Remus felt his heart ache, not seeming to care about his petrified state. Remus almost wanted to cry when he thought about Sirius flirting with others. That stupid sod had yet to realize that Remus had been head over heels for him for the past year.

Remus mentally slapped himself when he felt himself hope for Sirius to like him back, but he couldn't help it. Sure, a part of him had given up months back but there was still a part of him that stopped him from giving up and provided him with hope when it all felt hopeless.

He hadn't told anyone about his secret crush, not even his kind and understanding muggle-born friends Lily. Although Remus would refrain from letting her in on any more secrets at the time being seeing as she just recently figured out his werewolf situation.

He felt his body temperature sink by the minute and his head felt dizzy. By now James was probably enjoying a nice ride on his broom, Peter was sneaking heaps of candy into his bag and Sirius probably had his tongue down that Hufflepuff girls' throat. Ugh, now Remus really had to vomit.

As Remus lay there on the cold stone floor he felt his body stop freezing and his eyelids slowly started to clasp shut. With a disbelieving mental sigh he ironically thought that he had pictured his life ending many ways, but laying Petrified on the dark floor in a dark alcove was not one of them. Oh, life really seemed to hate him.

_~_

He felt his eyelids snap open. Shocked he tried to move his body, wondering where he was, but then he remembered what had happened and where he was. Apparently he had managed to take some sort of uncomfortable nap, or well maybe it wasn't that odd after all considering there wasn't anything else to do but to lie still and be silent.

Remus felt his stomach itch from one of his bleeding wounds but he couldn't reach down to scratch it. Damn, if it was one thing that could possibly make this situation worse was that his bruises were to start itching.

Almost going mad with frustrated thoughts he missed the sounds of padding feet just outside the alcove. Remus felt himself mentally startle when he heard the low sound of whispering voices, but then he realized that that must have been what had woken him up just moments ago.

Remus strained his ears and was for once happy about his heightened werewolf-senses as he managed to make out a sentence from the mumbling voices in the corridor outside.

"The Map says he's right over here,"

"Where? I can't see him."

"Ouch! You stepped on my foot-"

"Shhh, keep quiet Wormtail."

Remus felt his heart almost beat out of his chest when he realized whom the voices belonged to. He desperately turned his eyes from side to side as he tried his very hardest to make any kind of sound, and he finally felt the Petrificus Totalus start to loosen its grip on him.

"Mmmhhm!" He managed to squeak through closed lips.

"Shhh, did you hear that?" Sirius asked.

"Hear what?" Peter whispered.

"I swear I heard something coming from that dark alcove over there."

"Do you think it's Moony?" James asked sounding shocked.

When Remus heard the footsteps coming close he made another muffled sound and then he felt like he could shout from joy when he saw Sirius lean down to rescue him.

"Moony!" He almost shouted, but trailed off when his eyes caught sight of Remus' condition.

"Merlin, wha-, who did this to you?" He demanded suddenly looking furious.

Remus simply lowered his gaze to refrain from having to look him in the eyes. He wondered how long it would take from them to realize that he had been petrified.

Remus could hear James and Peter mumble something to each other but couldn't see them. He realized that they were hidden under James' invincibility cloak, and that they probably had covered themselves in it all three as they made their way down to the Slytherin dungeons.

Remus watched James appear from the cloak as he reached over to pat Sirius on the shoulder.

"Calm down Padfoot, I think we'll skip the questions for later and focus on getting him back to our dorm instead, alright?" He furrowed his brows when he turned his vision from Sirius and back to Remus who now had closed his eyelids again. He was out of energy and it felt like he had been laying there for the majority of his life already.

"I agree with Prongs," They heard Peter pipe from somewhere hidden underneath the cloak." and I think he's been hit by a Petrificus Totalus." Peter exclaimed as Remus heard him walking closer to them.

Not opening his eyes Remus heard Sirius swear under his breath. When James whispered a steady 'Finite Incantatem' Remus finally felt his muscles coming to life and with a loud groan he made to stand up. However he ended up crouching on the floor, his hands around his stomach as he started shivering madly. Through loud coughs Remus felt the pain from his wounds come to life and consequenses from hours of pain made itself remained when his entire body ached, both from the freezing cold and from having to lay down on the hard stone floor.

"Moony are you alright?" He heard Sirius whisper as he had crouched down to pat him on his back. "I'm sorry we didn't come sooner..." He trailed of when he heard Remus give a particular high cough.

Remus opened his eyelids some and through the corner of his eyes he saw James bring the Marauder's Map to the light under his lit wand and begin to search it for bypassing students.

"I don't mean to stress you or anything, but Professor Slughorn is heading this way and unless we want to get caught we need to hurry up." James told them in a hushed whisper. He then flicked the light off his wand and then opened the invincibility cloak, stepped inside and disappeared in it somewhere next to Peter.

Remus tried his best to stop coughing but it just wouldn't stop. His body shook violently from the effort and from the shivering cold. He was just about to tell them to head back without him, that he would have to take the punishment from Slughorn, when he felt Sirius swipe a hand up and down his back.

"Can you stand?" He asked when he leaned in to get a better look at Remus' significantly pale and blood smeared face.

"I- I think so." Remus managed to squeak, voice hoarse from the coughing.

"Hurry up, Slughorn is just around the corner!" They heard James shout in another hushed whisper, this time noticeable closer to the alcove as they got ready to open up the cloak for Remus and Sirius.

Remus steadied himself on Sirius steady frame as he slowly begun to rise up from the stone floor. He felt immensely relieved for finally being able to leave the damp, mold smelling ground, but his happiness didn't last long since he almost instantly felt his insides scream in pain as he moved his body faster than he had for hours.

"Oww..." He groaned when his feet reached the surface on the ground.

"Take it easy Moony, you can lean on me. Yes, like that, exactly..." Remus heard Sirius murmur close by. Remus did not complain when he felt Sirius strong arms wrap around him and simply sighed as he leaned in to steady himself on him.

Together then begun to stagger out of the alcove and into the corridor. There they were almost instantly securely wrapped inside the invincibility cloak that felt a bit crowded since it already was occupied by James and Peter, but Remus didn't complain. He had finally been found and he would soon be back in his warm bed in their dorm.

"Shhh, there he is!" Remus heard Peter pipe up from somewhere behind him, uncomfortably close to his neck.

They all froze at the spot where they stood hidden underneath the cloak, pressed up against the nearest wall. They watched professor Slughorn pass them, humming on an old tune while he patted himself on his belly.

Remus body slowly stopped shivering as he leaned in to the heat radiating from Sirius' body. The invincibility cloak was starting to feel too crowded with the four of them, since they were all starting to grow fast now in their fourth years, but Remus' didn't mind the close proximity to Sirius. Now he had an excuse to press back onto him, blaming his closeness on his unsteady legs and cold limbs. Remus's body still hurt all over from the punches and kicks by the bullies, but the pain felt more bearable under the cloak with his friends.

He felt his eyelids drift close again and then everything went black.

~

"I think he woke up!"

"Are you sure? You've said that six times already."

"Moony? Moony! Can you hear me?"

Remus let out a low groan as he test reached his arms from the sides of his body, trying to take in his surroundings. Not opening his eyes he felt around him and realized that he lay in a bed. The pillow underneath his head and bedsheet covering his body now made more sense.

He took a deep breath but then felt his heart make an uncomfortable twist. He was in the hospital wing. He was sure of it now that he smelt the strong scent of cleaning supplies and potions, and now that he thought about it this bed lacked the soft smell of chocolate that always seemed to linger around his own bed.

He was just about to open his eyes when he felt a hand close around his own. When he recognized the warm, strong hand as Sirius' he felt the butterflies in his stomach come to life. With a small smile tugging at his lips he let his eyelids snap open.

"Moony!" Sirius beamed as they quickly made eye contact with each other. Remus saw worry linger in Sirius' grey eyes as he sat down next to him on the bed, never letting go of his hand once.

When Remus glanced over Sirius' shoulder he saw that James and Peter sat around his hospital bed on chairs that looked extremely uncomfortable. Peter gave him a careful wave with his hand and James an encouraging nod. Remus felt Sirius tug at his hand and turned his attention back to him.

"What happened?" Remus croaked, his voice hoarse, but from sleep or exhaustion he did not know.

Sirius shared a look with James before he answered.

"How much do you remember?" He started.

"Ehm," Remus closed his eyes as he searched his brain for some kind of memory of the past couple of hours. "that you found me in the alcove. But then my memory is kind of fuzzy." He finished with a frown. He really didn't like memory gaps, it reminded him too much of the night of the full moon.

Sirius shared another look with James before James asked "Maybe you should give him the long explanation?"

Sirius nodded and turned his attention back to Remus, looking concerned.

"After you went off after dinner we all kind of walked away to do our own thing." He gave Remus an apologetic look. "When we all returned to the common room a couple of hours later we noticed that you were absent but thought that perhaps you had walked into Lily or something," He turned his gaze away from Remus eyes and looked down at his lap. "but when Lily walked through the portrait whole alone we got worried. We asked her if she'd seen you bet she told us she hadn't."

"Then Peter suggested that we should look it up on the Map, so we headed up to the dorm to check. After retrieving it from James' trunk we spotted you down in the Slytherin dungeons, dug out the invincibility cloak and sneaked out to find you."

Remus nodded but stopped with a groan as his head started to pulse painfully. He closed his eyes again and gulped as he waited to hear the rest of the explanation.

"When we finally had found you and begun making our way back you were so exhausted that you passed out."

Remus snapped his eyes open. "I what?" He asked astonished.

"You passed out." Peter piped up from somewhere behind Sirius. "Fell straight to the floor just as Slughorn had walked by."

"You were right next to us one moment and down on the ground the next." James filled in with a grimace. He looked at Remus with an expression that shifted from concern and pity. Remus really hated to be pitied.

"Yes, and? How did I end up in here?" Remus sighed. He didn't need to hear about the details of his fall. If his aching body was anything to go by it had been a nasty one.

"After you had passed out I carried you the way to the Hospital Wing underneath the invincibility cloak while James and Peter walked a few steps ahead, checking the Map and clearing the road from any obstacles."

Remus felt his cheeks heat when the information reached his brain. Had Sirius carried him? He didn't know if he was lucky to have been passed out of not, he would have loved to feel Sirius so close to him, but at the same time it would have been too embarrassing to really be able to enjoy the ride. Still, Sirius had carried him...

"Are you even listening?"

Remus snapped back to reality and watched as Sirius chuckled, still holding his hand securely in his.

"W-what?" Remus croaked red in the face.

"I said that after we reached the Hospital Wing we left you to Madame Pomfrey's care. She immediately began cleaning you wounds, cast healing charms and produced a potion seemingly out of thin air." Sirius smiled and begun to rub his thumb along the outside of Remus' hand. His heart skipped a beat and he tried to tell his body to calm down.

Sirius frowned when he continued. "She asked us what had happened, looking really worried, but James told her a very unbelievable story about how you tripped fell down from the second flight of stairs. I don't think she bought it but she nodded and stopped pressing us for more information." He finished, smiling down at Remus again.

"You've been here for about forty five minutes now. We didn't want to leave until you woke up so Pomfrey let us stay." James said as a matter of fact.

"Wait, what time is it?" Remus asked, feeling very confused as he hadn't looked at a clock since before dinner.

"It's thirty minutes to midnight." Peter answered as he stretched out on the chair. "I think we should leave now, I mean we still have lessons in the morning and all." He gave Remus an apologetic look and then begun to rise up from the chair.

"Yeah, Pomfrey will probably chase us out any minute now anyway." James stood up from his chair, gathered the invincibility cloak he had thrown on the floor and stretched out. "It sucks that you have to stay here tonight Moony but we'll get you out in the morning, alright?" He gave Remus an encouraging smile.

"What do you mean by 'have to stay here tonight'? I do?" Remus looked terrified and alternated his gaze from Peter, James and Sirius. He did not like to stay in the hospital wing. It always felt like someone was watching him, the doors squealed at night and the bedsheets always smelled from different potions that he suspected that patients before him had puked or spilled. Remus screwed up his nose when he got a very unpleasant picture stuck in his head.

"I'm sorry but it looks like you do." Sirius answered him with a sad smile. He made to stand up from the bed but then he sat down again, scooted a bit closer and reached out his free hand to push away Remus' fringe from his eyes.

Remus felt his cheeks heat again when he realized that Sirius was threading his fingers in his hair. Sirius stroked his fringe back to the top of his head three times until he lowered his hand to cup Remus' cheek.

Remus felt his heat skip a beat, but before he could do more than unbelievable glance back at Sirius the hand had retreated and Sirius stood up from the bed. Remus felt his mood sink when he felt Sirius other hand let go of his, the cold now quickly cooling it down.

"See you tomorrow Moony." Sirius smiled down at him one last time until he turned around to follow James and Peter out of the Hospital Wing.

"Yeah, bye Padfoot." Remus sighed as he reluctantly tore his gaze from Sirius' retreating frame. He would not be caught staring at his ass again, no matter how firm it was.

"Bye Moony!" "See ya!" Remus heard James and Peter chirp right before he heard the doors slam shut behind them.

Remus decided to try to get some sleep, not that there was anything else to do, when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Turning his head to look around the Wing he saw Madame Pomfrey walking towards him with brisk steps.

"How good that you're awake Remus." She said when he reached his bed. He smiled in response.

"I'm going to do a couple of check up's but then you can fall asleep again, okay?" She asked with a fond smile as she reached over to palm his forehead. While mumbling for herself she brought out her wand and swung it over his body as she checked the healing process of his wounds.

When the procedure was done she swiftly sat down next to him on the bed and lowered her voice.

"How do you feel Remus? You do know that you'll always be my favorite patient right?" She smiled and then reached out to brush away some imaginary dust off his cheekbone.

"I'm alright." He lied. He was not going to tell her how much the wounds hurt or about how the bullies had threatened to hurt him again if he ever told anyone, so he lied and wore a well-practiced fake-smile on his lips.

Though he could see that Pomfrey wasn't buying it, but at least she didn't press him for the truth. Instead she flicked her wand and a glass filled with some funky looking potion came flying towards them out of nowhere. An accio-charm Remus noted.

"Now, please drink this pain-reducing potion and go back to sleep. You will have to stay here for the night but I promise to release you in the morning. I know that you don't like to spend more time here than necessary, but this is what you get for getting into trouble like that." She teased, pinched his cheek and then stood up from the bed. She reached him the glass and then walked away from him.

Remus braced himself for the disgusting taste, raised the glass to his lips and then gulped it all down in one go.

"Yuck!" He gasped as he retched on the bed. He was not a fan of potions.

He placed the now empty glass on his nightstand while he looked around the room. There were only two other patients occupying beds in the room, but Remus liked his privacy so he leaned forward to close his curtains.

Just as the curtains were drawn closed he watched the lights flick out. He guessed that it was midnight and that Pomfrey probably was heading to bed herself.

With one last sigh Remus lowered himself back on the bed, covered his body with the bedsheets and closed his eyes. He felt warm underneath the covers and was grateful that he had such brilliant friends that could save him when he needed them to. He was glad that his life hadn't ended while laying petrified on the stone cold floor of the Slytherin Dungeons, unable to scream for help even if he wanted to.

When Remus felt himself drift off to sleep he let his mind wander some more, and as usual he ended up thinking about Sirius. Curling up into a ball on the small hospital bed Remus soon found himself sound asleep, dreaming about the secret love of his life.


	2. Day two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter!

**_Day two_ **

_Sirius leaned down to plant another kiss on his lips and Remus gasped when he felt Sirius' hand slowly make its way up his inner thigh._

_They sat on the edge of the hospital bed in the middle of the night, seemingly all alone, but Remus tried desperately to stay as quiet as he could. The other patients would not be pleased if they awoke to any suspicious sounds coming from Remus' side of the room._

_Sirius pressed his pursed lips onto Remus' once more, but this time added his tongue. Remus felt himself moan as Sirius worked wonders with his mouth. His entire body heated up and he tried to pull Sirius closer to him, tried to feel him pressed up against his entire being._

_"Remus you're incredible." Sirius breathed as he broke the kiss._

_Remus felt dizzy when Sirius leaned in for another kiss, and his hand reached its goal in between Remus' legs._

Remus jerked awake and snapped his eyes open in shock. A dream. It had been a dream.

Sticky with sweat over his whole body Remus wiped his forehead on the over side of his hand, turned around and gave a defeated sigh.

The dreams of him and Sirius had begun to appear more frequently the last couple of weeks and Remus didn't like it at all. What if someone heard him?

Suddenly suspicious to if he had many any unpleasant sounds this time Remus reached his arm out to swing open the curtains. After opening a gap he peeked outside, trying to look if the other patients had woken up from his noise.

After watching the other two occupants of the Hospital Wing's chests rise and fall peacefully Remus closed the curtains again. Good, so he hadn't woken anyone up.

He covered his eyes with his palms and let out a grunt. He was frustrated. Not only because he had woken up in the middle of the dream but because his crush on Sirius was unnecessary. It was only a burden and in the way for him since it distracted him on a daily basis. It made him feel helpless and sad when he thought of all the reasons they could never end up together.

With a frustrated growl he flopped his arms down at the sides to the bed and proceeded to stare up at the ceiling. With a sigh he closed his eyes.

He wasn't going to get any more sleep.

~

Remus heard the doors slam open with a loud 'Bang!'. He turned around on the bed and tried to flatten out his hair as he heard the familiar voices of his friends walking closer to him.

He had just sat up on the bed when the curtains were forcefully swung open, revealing the smiling faces of James, Sirius and Peter.

"Good morning sunshine," James sang when he slumped down on the bed to sit next to Remus.

"Morning." Peter smiled as he sat down on Remus' other side.

"Slept well Moons?" Sirius grinned down at him before he reached out to ruffle his hair.

Remus felt his cheek's heat when he looked Sirius in the eyes. He prayed to whoever's out there that he would not find out about his dream, or about how he had spent the last couple of hours or so by daydreaming about him.

"I slept okay." He answered as he lowered his gaze to stare at his hands.

"How do you feel?" He heard James ask from right next to him.

He despised that question for more reasons than he could count, but since he knew James really cared about his well-being he couldn't help but to feel grateful. He was a great friend.

"A lot better actually. I'm just a bit sore but other than that it's fine. I've had worse." He smiled, but stopped when he saw the looks on his friends' faces. He realized that his answer hadn't got the effect he hoped for when he watched James and Sirius share a look of worry with each other.

Perhaps he should have left out the 'I've had worse' part, but it was true and why would he feel the need to lie to his best mates?

Just as Remus was about to say something about the weather to break the ice he heard Peter speak up next to him.

"Shall we head down to breakfast then? I don't know about you but I feel like I could eat a whole hippogriff." He said as a matter of fact. Remus gave him a thankful smile before he reached out to grab his wand from the table.

"Sure, I'm just going to get dressed first."

"Do you want us to wait outside?" He heard Sirius ask and when he turned around to look him in the eyes it looked like he was blushing. That's odd.

"You can do whatever you like." Remus shrugged as he stood up from the bed and crouched to find his pile of clothes underneath it. While he spread the clothes out on the bed James and Peter rose up from the bed and walked out of the privacy of the curtains.

"We'll meet you just outside the doors, okay?" He heard James say over his shoulder as they made their way out of the Hospital Wing. Remus yet again felt grateful for the thoughtfulness of his friends. They knew that he didn't like to show his bare skin to anyone, that he liked his privacy.

Remus started to pull his borrowed pajama top over his head when he heard Sirius mumble a "See you." and then rushed away from the bed.

Remus felt heat fill his cheeks again. He had thought that Sirius left with the others, if he had known that Sirius was left he wouldn't had been so eager to throw his clothes off. But why did Sirius just rush off like that? Remus furrowed his brows up in thought.

While feeling extremely confused about Sirius odd behavior and about his feelings, Remus continued to get undressed and then walked out of the Hospital Wing to meet up with his friends and head down for the Great Hall to eat breakfast.

~

"Don't hog all the sausages! Leave some for the others would you?" James exclaimed as he slapped Peter's hand away from the sausage tray. They had both filled their plates to the brim already. Remus looked down at his own plate that was nearly empty. He wasn't really a breakfast person.

"Come on, you've got to eat something Moony. You're a growing boy," Sirius sung from the place next to him. Sighing Remus lowered his fork to the lonely piece of bacon lying on his plate and lifted it to his lips. While glancing at Sirius from the corner of his eyes he opened his mouth and then slowly bit down on the piece of meat.

"That's more like it, good boy." Sirius grinned at him and then begun to eat from his own plate that was almost as filled as James and Peter's.

The four friends' side of the Gryffindor table was silent for a while as they all ate their breakfast, but after watching the owl's deliver the post and they all were full Sirius leaned back and narrowed his eyes in the direction of the Slytherin table.

After a while he lifted one if his hands to rub his chin in thought.

"Was it him?" He suddenly asked, turning around to look Remus in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, looking confused.

James and Peter had stopped chatting about Quidditch and were now looking over at them with curious expressions.

"Was it him that ambushed you last night? Rosier?" Sirius waved his hand in the direction of the Slytherin table just as Rosier stood up and left the great hall.

"Let it go Sirius." Remus answered with a sigh and then lowered his gaze to stare at his empty plate.

"It was, wasn't it?" Sirius narrowed his eyes further and furrowed his brows in confusion or anger, Remus couldn't tell the difference right then.

"I'm not going to tell you who did it. I know that you'll just run off to punish them or something and I don't want that. I don't believe in answering violence with violence." He finished as he raised his eyebrows to try and make a statement. But he should've known better than to try and teach his friends something after being friends with them for nearly four years.

"Tch." He heard James huff as he leaned back on his chair, giving Remus a distrusting look. Remus rolled his eyes at that.

"So what, aren't you going to anything about it? They hurt you Remus!" Sirius slammed his hands down at the table and he looked almost furious. "They hurt you and I, I mean we, can't allow that. Tell me who did it!" He slammed his hands down the table again just for good measure and Remus gulped when he heard the Gryffindor table fall silent. Every pair of eyes was turned on Remus as they awaited his answer.

Glancing up from his plate Remus noted that the other tables had stopped in their chatter as well, and when his gaze reached the Slytherin table he saw Snape and Rosier watching him from where they sat. Rosier gave Remus a look of pure evil and then reached his hand up to trace his index finger across his throat. Remus got the message and quickly looked away, suddenly feeling very anxious.

"I-I can't tell you Padfoot. I'm sorry." He said and then glanced up to give Sirius an apologetic look as he shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius' eyes turned from furious into something far gentler as he gave Remus an encouraging pat on the back. "It's okay, I'll let it go if you want to." He gave Remus a kind smile. "For now." He added.

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius sudden mood change but was grateful that they could drop the subject. Slowly students in the Great Hall begun chatting again and the four friends gathered up their belongings to leave the Hall for their first lesson of the day.

Just as they started walking towards the entrance they passed by the Hufflepuff fifth year Sirius had winked to the day before.

"Hi Sirius, want to talk for a second?" She asked him while batting her eyelashes and literally pushing her voluptuous breasts together. Remus could see why Sirius fancied her.

"Not now McLennon." Sirius grunted as he walked past her.

Remus felt his mouth fall agape as he watched the exchange. He remembered the girl's surname to be Sophie now and had expected Sirius to use that since they seemed to have gotten along well the day prior. Remus was sure that Sirius liked her, so why did he push her away like that?

"You coming Moony?" Remus heard Sirius ask him, so he snapped out of his thoughts and hurried to catch up with his friends that had stopped walking to wait him in. Sirius smiled at him but all Remus could do was shake his head since he still felt bowled from the unfamiliar exchange.

~

The four friends made their way to their first lesson of the day that was Potions with Professor Slughorn. They walked through the Entrance Hall and then proceeded to walk down the stairs heading down to the Slytherin dungeons. Remus felt like bugs crawled under his skin when they passed by the alcove he had spent so many hours in the day before, but then relaxed when he felt James give him a reassuring pat on his back.

They reached the door to their classroom and then stopped to wait outside until Professor Slughorn would let them in. Remus looked around at the gathering crowd when his fellow Gryffindor fourth years and Ravenclaw fourth years gathered. This class they shared with the Ravenclaws which usually meant it was difficult any of the Gryffindor's to be at the top of the class, well except from Lily Evans of course. She was always at the top of the class in Potion's.

Remus waved at Lily when he saw her and her friends Alice and Dorcas walk up to wait by the door. Remus and Lily often studied together but since Remus now was surrounded by his rowdy friends Lily simply walked past him, but he didn't blame her for it.

The lock on the door clicked and the door swung open. Through it came Professor Slughorn's bellowing voice that echoed in the stone corridor outside.

"Come in, come in. I have an interesting lesson planned for you all today." He chuckled.

Remus followed the stream of students through the door and walked to his usual spot by the upper left corner of the classroom, close to the headboard and supply cabinet. Remus slumped down on his chair and lifted his bag to bring out his Potions' book when he saw Sirius slump down in the chair next to him.

Remus gave Sirius an incredulous look, and then furrowed his brows together in confusion before he spoke.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Why, I'm sitting down next to one of my best mates, how so?" Sirius grinned as he opened his bag to retrieve his own Potions' book.

"No, I mean, why aren't you sitting down next to Prongs? Usually Wormtail and I work together remember? Or, well, we've actually only been Potions' partners since like, back in first year." Remus said and narrowed his eyes. This was really odd.

"Am I not allowed to enjoy the company of my dear Messer Moony once in a while?" He grinned as he placed a cauldron on the table.

"Yes of course you are Padfoot, but have you suddenly forgotten about the reason Wormtail and I work together? We are the ones that eventually will blow something up since we both suck at Potions." He gave Sirius a look of pure disbelief. "I thought you cared about your good grade." He pressed his lips together in a straight line and stared at Sirius.

"Well, ehm, I just wanted to sit here today, all right?" Sirius crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back on his chair and blew a strand of hair from his face. Remus didn't quite understand why he suddenly had changed from his usual seat in the classroom but stopped question him at that. Perhaps it had something to do with the events of the past day and Remus did not need to get that thrown in his face again.

Sighing Remus turned his attention away from Sirius and instead looked around the classroom. Professor Slughorn had positioned himself in front of the black board where he was scribbling something down with the help of his wand, probably ingredients for today's potion.

At the table behind them sat Lily and Alice, idly chatting about the possible outcome from today's lesson. Behind them sat Dorcas and a Ravenclaw girl Remus remembered as being an 'Emelie'. At the table behind them Remus spotted James and Peter. Peter looked slightly baffled but satisfied about getting to sit next to James on Sirius' usual seat. They chatted about something while James transfigured paper airplanes to fly over to Lily's table and poke her in the head.

Remus turned his attention back to the black board when Professor Slughorn started on today's presentation.

"Welcome to today's lesson," He started, and clapped his hands together with a smile "I hope that you're excited because today we're going to brew something extra special." He turned his gaze to Lily's direction when she grinned in approval.

"Listen very closely now... Today we're going to brew a potion called 'The Love Snare'." His eyes glistened as he clapped himself on his belly and laughed. A couple of 'Ihhh' and 'What! Oh my!' could be heard from many of the tables occupied by girls.

"It is a lighter love potion that share many similarities with the well-known Amortentia love potion, though the effects of the 'Love Snare' is not as powerful and doesn't last as long." He explained to the class that had gone deadly silent.

"One similarity the 'Love Snare' potion has with the Amortentia potion is that if the concoct is brewed correctly you will be able to smell the scent's you find attractive. The effects of the potion does not last as long as other love potions but they can still make the drinker feel light headed, get 'butterflies' in his or her stomach and feel overly 'drawn' to the person that gave them the potion." Slughorn finished as he chuckled once more.

Glancing over at Sirius out from the corner of his eyes Remus thought that he didn't need the 'Love Snare' potion. He already felt light headed and overpowered by the butterflies fluttering like mad in his stomach. He quickly glanced away and felt his cheeks redden when Sirius turned his head to look back at him. Remus desperately hoped that he wouldn't understand why Remus suddenly was red in the face. As a way to hide his cheeks Remus leaned forward on their desk and cupped his cheeks with his palms. The position was very uncomfortable but it would do.

"You will now work in pairs as you make an attempt to brew your own 'Love Snare' potions. The ingredients are on the black board. If you follow my instructions it should take about one hour to brew and be of a light pink shade at the end, and the real test will of course be to smell the scent of it afterwards. If it smells good you'll have managed but if it reeks you'll have failed. Good luck!" Professor Slughorn clasped his hands together once more and then started walking around the classroom, watching and helping the students as they started up.

Remus stood up from his chair and then started to scribble down the instructions on a piece of parchment he dug out from his bag. He saw Sirius walk to the supply cabinet and back with his arms full of different ingredients.

"Okay, we need to divide the work now Moony." He placed the different ingredients' in piles on their workspace next to their cauldron.

"We need to chop up the roots first, but then we have to add the drops of cleansing water." Remus stated, staring up and down his list of steps.

"How about you take the roots and I take the water? I can do the stirring as well if you want." Sirius shrugged.

Remus considered it for a while but then nodded in agreement. "Okay, could you hand me the knife from over there please?" He glanced past Sirius' shoulder to the edge of their table where their spoon, knife and mortar lay.

After Sirius had given him the knife Remus got a cutting board from the supply cabinet, grabbed a fistful of roots and begun to cut them into smaller slices, but just as he was starting to chop up his second root he felt a hand clasp over his own, stopping him from moving the knife.

Remus heart pounded in his chest when he realized that the hand belonged to Sirius that had stopped with his own work to watch Remus cut the roots.

Remus gave an audible gulp, turned his head to the side and looked up to meet Sirius' eyes with his. He felt his cheeks heat when Sirius gave his hand a squeeze, but then he had had enough so Remus quickly let go of the knife and yanked his hand out of Sirius' grasp.

Sirius gave him a quizzed look but then looked away, staring into their empty cauldron, eyebrows scrunched up in deep thought.

"You were doing it wrong." Sirius mumbled to the darkness of the cauldron.

"Pardon?" Remus crossed his arms, feeling slightly offended.

"You cut he roots the wrong way." Sirius glanced up at Remus with an apologetic look. "You are supposed to cut every root into equally big cubicles, but you just chopped them up to look like someone's uneven carrots made for dinner."

Remus opened his mouth to say something mean back. "I told you I was buttocks at Potions. It's your own damn fault for partnering up with me." He narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. He already disliked the subject and did not need Sirius telling him he sucked as well. And even though he didn't like to think about it the fact that the remark came from Sirius and not anyone else hurt more.

"That's not what I meant." Sirius smiled at him, reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. Remus tried to keep his facial features as normal as possible when he felt a shiver run down his spine from Sirius touch. Sweet Merlin, he really had it bad for Sirius.

"May I ask you what you meant then?" Remus subconsciously leaned in to Sirius' touch but quickly leaned back away from it when he saw Sirius smile widen into a grin.

"I thought I could show you how to do it instead, but we need to hurry up since we're the last pair that hasn't started the brewing yet." He stepped closer to Remus' side of their work table and then looked down between them. He reached for Remus' right hand and placed it in his before he placed them both on the knife.

Remus heart pounded almost painfully in his chest, he felt dizzy and was sure that his face had gotten the color of a tomato by now. But he struggled to hide the smile that slowly creeped up at the sides of his mouth. He wanted to giggle at the warm, fuzzy feeling that filled him up from the inside.

"You need to cut them like this." Sirius motioned with the knife, successfully squeezing Remus' hand in the process. Sirius glanced over at him and Remus tried desperately to scorn his facial features and give an understanding nod, but if he was being honest he had trouble concentrating on what he was saying.

After Sirius had cut up one of the three roots he let go of Remus' hand that gripped the knife like his life belonged to it. The over side of his hand felt oddly cold now that the heat from Sirius was gone and without thinking of it Remus scrunched his eyebrows in thought, his eyes never leaving the knife.

"You okay Moony?" He jerked when he heard Sirius lean in close to his hear from right next to him.

"Y-yes, of course!" He tried to sound reassuring but his voice squeaked suspiciously at the end. Clearing his throat he tried again.

"Yes. Why don't you go ahead with preparing the rest of the ingredients while I finish chopping up these roots, Padfoot?" He glared at the cutting board in front of him, not daring to look Sirius in the eyes. He still felt his face burning from the odd hand-holding-experience only moments ago.

"Sure Moony, just threw the roots in the cauldron when you're done with them." And at that Sirius returned to his own chores, measuring up cleansing water, dragon skin and other extensive ingredients needed to brew the 'Love Snare' love potion.

~

Thirty minutes later Remus and Sirius had successfully measured up every necessary ingredient and were now waiting for the brew to start boiling. Their cauldron was filled with a deep red color that smelled suspiciously a lot like chocolate, Remus thought.

Glancing over the cauldrons' that belonged to the other students in the room Remus noted that most of the cauldrons had adapted some sort of red or pink color, well except for one. The brew belonging to Gideon and Fabian Prewett was of a color or the brightest green and the disgusting vapor that came from it sometimes reached Remus' nose, almost making him gag at the spot. When professor Slughorn had walked past it he had chuckled and said something about 'Better luck next time, lads,'

Now most of the class was waiting for their potion's to start boiling and after it had brewed for about twenty minutes or until it adapted the color of light pink. Then it was ready to be smelled and if brewed successfully it would smell appealing to the person sniffing it.

Remus felt anxious when he thought about what it would smell like for him. What if it smelled like Sirius?

Remus reached out his hand for the ladle to stir the potion three times clockwise but startled when he felt warm fingertips brush into his. Glancing up Remus followed the hand to its owner.

"I thought we agreed that I would do the stirring?" Sirius asked, a wryly grin on his lips that revealed a fine line of his white teeth.

Remus felt his face heat up again as he quickly retreated his hand. He turned around and pretended that he remembered something very important he had to write down as he turned his back to Sirius. He desperately hoped that his ears weren't as red as they felt, and that the sneaking feeling that Sirius was glaring into his neck was just his brain playing a trick on him.

"Oh, right, that's how..." Remus mumbled while he continued to fake-scribble on his parchment, hunching his back over it so that it would be impossible for Sirius to peek over his shoulder.

~

"Now, now. It's time for the moment of truth!" Professor Slughorn bellowed at the front of the classroom from his usual spot in front of the black board.

"If you've brewed your potions successfully it should now be of a very light pink color. But the real test is checking the smell. If it spells appealing to you then you'll successfully managed to brew the 'Love Snare' potion." He chuckled and then begun to walk away from his desk, out to the workspaces of his pupils.

Slughorn stopped to glance around the classroom for a couple of seconds, but then he squinted his eyes, nodded and hummed something as he begun steering his steps toward Remus' direction. He felt slightly anxious when he watched the teacher close the distance between them but told himself to relax since Slughorn was probably only walking to his star pupil Lily Evans that stood at the spot directly behind Remus.

But Remus felt the nervous feeling in his belly return with new fervor when Slughorn walked up to stand in front of Remus and Sirius' table, leaning his protruding stomach on the desk as he smiled up at them.

"Lupin my boy, why don't you tell me what your potion smells like?" He asked, his moustache fluttered with every movement from his lips.

"Ehm," Remus begun with his heart stuck in his throat as he leaned forward to place his head over their cauldron. He gave Sirius a quick glance and saw him give him an apologetic look, but then Remus quickly glanced away again and instead closed his eyes. Leaning in some more Remus emptied his lungs of air but then took a deep breath of the potion and filled them with the wonderful scent from it.

"Mmm," Remus vaguely heard himself hum over the most wonderful mixture of scents he'd ever smelled in his life. He leaned in some more and drew another breath and this time he started to feel dizzy as he dreamily relished in the brilliant mixture of his favorite smells.

He was just going to lean in for another breath when he felt someone grab a fistful of his robes and yank him backwards. Remus stumbled some until his feet successfully found the ground. He shook his head and tried to snap back to reality. He realized that the hand on his back belonged to Sirius that gave him a funny look, and heard the rest of the class erupt in giggles and laughter.

Remus straightened his posture, brushed of some imaginary dust off the front of his robes and cleared his throat. His face was burning again but this time out of embarrassment. The way he had given after for the wonderful smell was awkward but he still couldn't blame himself for it. The smell - it had been the best scent he'd ever smelled in his life. But he didn't want the rest of the class or the rest of the school to know about it. What should he tell Slughorn?

"So, what did it smell like, my boy? By the look on your face it must have been something unusually terrific." Slughorn beamed as he clapped his hands together and chuckled.

Remus dared a glance at Sirius and found him looking at him with a curious expression.

Looking back at Professor Slughorn Remus cleared his throat again.

"I would say it smelled a lot like chocolate, sir." Remus gave Slughorn a serious nod, but Slughorn did not look pleased. He looked almost disappointed.

"Are you sure that's that all, mister Lupin? If you've brewed the potion correctly it's usually between three to five prominent scents..." He trailed off, giving Remus a confused look.

Remus felt himself start to panic. Of course he had smelled more scents but he wasn't going to flaunt that out to just anybody.

"Ehm, well," He started, desperately searching his brain for what to say. He had to make something up.

Slughorn gave him an encouraging look. "Yes?" He asked eagerly.

Remus closed his eyes and brought up his hand to rub in between his eyebrows. What should he tell him?

He let his mind wander back to the sweet sensation the wonderful scents erupted in him. He felt the butterflies in is stomach churn to life as well as a warm feeling in his chest. He remembered the fresh smell of warm leather in the sun and the calming effect it had on him. He remembered the remarkable scent of an expensive shampoo, but felt himself blush when he realized the shampoo belonged to Sirius.

Lastly he remembered the unique smell of rain on damp skin that had trailed after Sirius so many times before, usually after him and James had been outside for a couple of hours playing Quidditch.

Remus felt a fine smile tug at his lips when he opened his eyes again.

"I smelled the scent of rain as well, professor." He told professor Slughorn. It wasn't exactly a lie, but not really the truth either.

"Nothing more?" Slughorn looked disappointed again. Remus frowned at him. What did he want him to say? That he smelled every significant scent of the man in his dreams?

"No, sir." Remus spoke loudly so that he would kill off any assumptions his classmates had about him.

"O-okay then," Slughorn chuckled "Well done, I must say. You've both worked well today." He gave Remus and Sirius a look over each before he chuckling walked over to Lily's table behind them.

Remus gave a loud sigh, slumped down in his chair and leaned his head on his arms.

"You alright over there, Moony?" He heard Sirius lean in to whisper.

Remus waved his hand around him, trying to make Sirius move away from him, already feeling exhausted from his confusing feelings that had tormented him all morning. He did not need Sirius to breathe down his ear as well.

"If your look was anything to go by those must have been some really exclusive chocolates." Sirius teased. Remus rolled his eyes when he felt Sirius jab a finger in his shoulder playfully. He was not going to tell him that the scent that had almost driven him crazy had belonged to him.

"It was." Remus mumbled, his mouth covered by his arms. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sirius hide a chuckle and felt him pat him on his back, and that's when Remus realized that Slughorn had only tormented him and not Sirius.

"Wait, Padfoot, what does the potion smell like to you?" He sat up from where he had laid hunched over the table, straightened his posture and tried to look as normal he could without revealing the pounding heart that thumped like crazy in his chest.

Sirius broke their eye contact to glance down at their light pink 'Love Snare' potion. He frowned and seemed to be in deep thought before he answered.

"To me it smells like," He started, gave Remus a quick glance and turned down his gaze to stare at his hands that he had played in his lap. "Many things, but ehm, mostly ..." He closed his eyes and breathed in deep, nose close to the brim of their cauldron, "Mostly parchment."

Remus mouth fell open and he blinked a couple of times. "Parchment?"

"Yep. Really old parchment that can be found in the- oh, eh, never mind..." Sirius suddenly looked panicked and his face reddened. He turned around on his seat to glance over Slughorn, successfully ignoring Remus' curious look.

"Okay..."Remus said slowly. He didn't understand the fuss about it but decided to let it go. "What about the other scents then? You said that there was many." He reached out to place his hand on Sirius' shoulder, trying to make him turn his attention back to him.

"I did? Oh, but, ehm ... Then I lied because I can only smell one scent. Sorry," He shrugged his shoulders but didn't look the least bit remorseful. He glanced back at Remus over his shoulder, lips pursed together in a forced apologetic smile. Remus narrowed his eyes at him. He felt like there was something Sirius didn't tell him... Something he didn't want him to find out about...

Remus heard himself gasp when reality dawned upon him. What if Sirius didn't want him to know about the smells he scented because they belonged to another person?

"Alright class, bring a flask of your potion to the desk and clean your tables. Class dismissed!" He heard professor Slughorn bellow from his left just as he was about to give Sirius some more questions about the potion. Sighing Remus dropped his curious thoughts for the time being and instead picked out his wand from his pocket to clean up their workspace.

The everlasting double hours of his Potion's class were finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I totally just made up a potion and the ingredients in it. Sue me. :D


	3. Day three - part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter! 
> 
> The days will be split into parts now btw c:

**_Day three - part one_ **

"Yum, kidney pie!" Peter chirped on the seat across from Remus.

"Hey, leave some for me, would you?" James spat in between bites of sausages as he reached out to grab the dish from Peter's greedy fingers. They bickered with each other as they both tried to grab the tray from each other. Remus simply shook his head and turned his attention back to his own plate that was filled with his favorite dish; egg and bacon. Traditional English breakfast, just like he wants it.

Remus ate a piece of his food as he thought back to the events of the day before. After Professor Slughorn's Potion's class Remus and his three friends had went on to the next class, care of Magical Creatures that they shared with the Slytherins. During the whole lesson Sirius had stood almost obscenely close to Remus as he stared at the Slytherins, sending death glares to anyone who dared a glance at Remus. He had crossed his arms over his chest and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'Slimy gits aren't getting close to you ever again…' Remus hadn't known whether to feel thankful or embarrassed over Sirius behavior so he had tried to ignore the glaring boy next to him.

After lunch they had successfully headed to the charms corridor for a double hour with the Hufflepuffs. Remus had spent that lesson narrowing his eyes at Sophie McLennon that ended up pairing up with Sirius. Remus had felt an uncontrollable fury rise up him and he had to answer questions like 'What's the matter Moony?' or 'Sweet Merlin! You look like you're about to murder someone!"' from Peter that Remus had paired up with. James had been off somewhere to try and gain Lily's attention as usual.

Remus had finally mastered the accio-charm during the lesson and left the classroom with a small smile on his lips, but felt his anger return when he heard bloody Sophie force out giggle after giggle behind him. Sending a glare over his shoulder he had seen Sirius walking his way with Sophie gripping his arm.

Remus had felt the anger replaced by hurt when he saw the way Sophie clung to Sirius. Not bothering about the shouts of 'Wait up!' coming from his friends Remus had steered on his steps and rushed in to an abandoned bathroom to let out a few tears. He had felt ridiculous where he sat, crying over the fact that Sirius had had a girl clung on to him. But it still hurt. Remus' chest had ached in pain when he like so many times before thought about the many reasons why he and Sirius would never be together. 

Later when he joined his friends in the Great Hall for dinner he had ignored every question about where he went off to or why his eyes were swollen. Remus had simply looked down at his empty plate and waited for the dinner to end so that he could return to their dorm, slump down on his bed, close his curtains and cry some more.

After dinner the four boys had returned to the common room where Remus left the other three. He walked up to their dorm and closed the door, but when he spread out on his bed he thought that if he finished his Transfiguration's essay early then he would have the whole evening the next day over for crying as well. So Remus had sat up on his bed, eyebrows furrowed in thought before he decided that he already felt better. He always did when he got to be alone for a while. So with his mood changing for the better he had dug around in his bag to find his Transfiguration's book, parchment, quill and ink. Then he'd turned around on the bed, placed the parchment on his nightstand and started writing. Perhaps, he'd thought, it was only for the best that he decided to work on his homework instead of lying in bed thinking (crying) about Sirius. It was a good distraction after all.

When Remus was done with his essay he had gone to bed early, not wanting to wait up and eventually eavesdrop on his friends conversations about girls or something worse.

Remus sighed as he chewed on his last bite of breakfast. Today was a Wednesday which meant that the first lesson was History of Magic, Remus' last favorite subject. He did not look forward to sleepily take notes for not only himself but for James, Sirius and Peter as well, during two long hours of monotone speaking by the most boring ghost at Hogwarts. (Or in the world, Remus liked to think.)

James and Sirius usually alternated by sending each other dirty notes, hexing the other students' shoelaces together or sleeping during Professor Binns' boring lectures. Peter always fell asleep within the first five minutes, and that's why Remus was the one left to take notes. He often complained about it but in reality he was fine with it. His friends usually got him some fancy looking chocolate as a thanks, but Remus still felt that he owed his friends something as they worked on to become animagi for him. The process would only take about six more months but then Remus wouldn't have to be alone on the nights of the full moon anymore. He felt a mixture of happiness and fear build up in his chest when he thought about it.

"Are you coming Moony?" Sirius asked next to him. Snapping out of his thoughts Remus looked up around and watched as James, Sirius and Peter rose up from their seats to head off to their first lesson.

"Sure." Remus smiled up at Sirius and then the four of them left for their first lesson of the day; History of Magic.

~

After an uneventful morning of History of Magic and Herbology Remus, James, Sirius and Peter had after a quick lunch walked off to the lecture in their favorite subject; Defence Against the Dark Arts. Their teacher had put together a highly interesting lesson about the unforgivable curses and the slightly hideous, but interesting, effects of them.

For homework they were told to write an essay about the good's and the bad's about the Imperius Curse, but also write about their own opinions of it. Remus loved DADA so he actually really looked forward to writing it and had already planned to do it straight after dinner.

Remus sat down at his usual spot by the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall just as today's dinner magically appeared. He licked his lips when he spotted the roasted turkey that lay about an arm's length away from him on the table.

Remus leaned over the table and grabbed a piece of the deliciously looking turkey while he saw Sirius sit down next to him again. Across from Sirius sat James and next to him Peter slumped down on his chair with a huff.

"Hungry today Moony?" Sirius asked with a happy smile when Remus sat back in his seat. Remus felt heat shoot straight to his cheeks and he turned his eyes down to stare at the dishes on the table instead of meeting Sirius' beautiful eyes.

"How so?" He ended up sounding angry and Remus mentally punched himself. Here Sirius was actually caring about him and Remus had to answer in the most offending way.

"I saw the enormous piece of turkey on your plate, that's all. But it's good, you're a growing boy." He teased before he reached over to ruffle Remus' hair. Okay, so he hadn't taken offence after all, that's great, but what was Sirius' hand doing in Remus hair he wondered, now slightly panicking.

"Padfoot," Remus warned as he tried to steer away from Sirius hand. If he was being honest with himself he loved the feel of Sirius' fingers brushing across his scalp, but not when he knew that he was just doing it to tease him, and with the prying eyes of the entire Great Hall as audience.

Sirius shot him a grin that would leave most girls squealing but then finally retrieved his hand to start piling up food on to his plate.

Remus tried to flatten down his now messy hair and huffed when he saw Sirius chuckle at him out of the corner of his eyes.

When his hair was combed Remus resumed eating his food and the four boys fell into a comfortable silence as they all dug into their food.

"Wow Moony, you're really wolfing that down!" James suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Remus with his fork.

Remus rolled his eyes at the pun. He had heard it about once a week for the past three years, but leave it to James to try bring it up again.

"Ha ha Prongs, very funny." Said Remus, his voice drippling of sarcasm.

James only shot him a shit eating grin before he turned his attention back to his dinner, now piling up a second portion.

"Was it him?" Sirius leaned in to whisper from the place next to Remus who jumped in his seat from Sirius' close proximity. He tried to hide the shiver that run down his spine as he felt Sirius' breath ghost alarmingly close to his ear.

"What are you on about?" Remus frowned at him and crossed his arms as a way to distract Sirius from noticing the bright red color his cheeks had obtained.

"Was it him that hurt you two days ago?" Sirius looked Remus deeply into his eyes, searching for an answer, but when Remus understood what he was doing he quickly turned down his gaze to stare at his knees.

Sirius had probably spent the last ten minutes or so wondering, leaned back in his chair glaring at the Slytherin table, trying to spot anyone that shot Remus a suspicious look. But Remus didn't want Sirius getting into trouble for him.

"Just drop it Sirius." He felt the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach return. Why did Sirius have to remind him all the time? It was already bad as it was.

"No. I'm not going to 'drop this'. Don't you see it Remus? They're not going to stop until someone does something about it. And if you're not going to I'll have to." Sirius grabbed Remus' chin to force him to meet his eyes.

Remus felt a confusing jolt of equal parts excitement and fear when he looked back into Sirius' eyes that now looked awfully determined.

"I can fight my own battles. I don't need your help." Remus hissed when he narrowed his eyes at him.

"No you can't. I'm going to help you." Sirius whispered as he leaned in closer as if to make a statement.

"You can't help me." Remus let out an ironical laugh. He didn't want to fight with Sirius. With Sirius that he loved undercover. But the thought that someone could help him was just so ridiculous that Remus had to fight back. Didn’t Sirius realize that all hope was gone already?

"Yes, I can Remus!" Sirius' eyes widened almost making him look crazy. He let go of Remus' chin only to reach out his hands to grab hold of his shoulders. Remus felt Sirius fingertips dig into his school robes and had to keep in a satisfied groan as he wondered what those hands would feel like on his bare skin.

"I want to punish the ones that left you to die in that alcove!" Sirius hissed as his grip on Remus' shoulders tightened. Remus mouth fell agape in shock when he saw the pleading in Sirius' eyes. Remus felt taken aback when he realized that Sirius really, genuinely cared.

"Don't you trust me?" Sirius whispered.

"I-I, well, of course I trust you." Remus sputtered, lowering his gaze to stare at Sirius' tie.

"Are you sure about that? Because it doesn't look like it." Sirius gave him an insecure smile before he let go of Remus' shoulders, giving them a pat each before he lowered his hands to lie in his lap.

Remus sighed when he dared a glance back at Sirius that was smiling down at him apologetically. Remus felt uneasy after their fight and wanted to tell Sirius that he did trust him, but that it was complicated. He wanted to explain that the bullies had threatened him if he told anymore.

But then something in Remus changed. Suddenly all his worry towards the evil bullies disappeared when he looked deeply into Sirius' grey eyes. Remus realized that with Sirius by his side he had nothing to be worried about. He felt safe.

With his new mindset Remus felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"I'm sorry if it seems that way Padfoot. I trust you a lot." He gave Sirius an apologetic look. "In fact I think I need to tell you something when we get back to our dorm." Remus said in a matter-of-fact-voice.

"Y-you do?" Sirius stuttered, eyes wide with anticipation and mouth falling open in a disbelieving grin.

Remus stopped in his tracks at that. Did Sirius just stutter? And why did it look like his cheeks just turned pink?

Remus narrowed his eyes at Sirius, surveying him.

"I'm going to tell you about you-know-whom." Remus whispered.

Sirius mouth formed into an 'o' and he looked to be taken a back.

That's odd, Remus thought. Had Sirius thought he was going to tell him about something else? When they had just spent the last ten minutes arguing about the bullies?

"Yes of course, what else?" Sirius was fast to say, trying to cover up what just had happened. He gave Remus a reassuring pat on his back before he turned his attention back to his plate.

"It's going to be alright. I promise." He mumbled mostly into his plate but Remus knew it was directed to him. He felt the affection for Sirius swell almost uncomfortably in his chest and he wanted to reach out and kiss him so badly. But he didn't. Of course he didn't. Instead he muttered a 'drama queen' under his breath to which Sirius looked slightly offended. He gave Remus' shoulder a playful shove but then they both dropped the subject and stared at their plates.

"You quarrel like an old married couple!"

Remus whipped his head around, trying to locate the sound when he saw James leaning over the table looking smug.

"Did I just watch two of my best mates have an argument or a pair of old grandmothers?" James leaned back into his chair laughing. "Or what do you say Pete?" He turned his head to look over at Peter who wore a confused expression.

"Sod off." Sirius muttered.

James stretched out on the chair and then placed his arms at the back of his head, proudly gazing between Remus and Sirius. Remus felt his heart pound loudly in his chest out of fear when he realized that James might know something. Terrified Remus turned his gaze away from James to look over at Marlene that sat next to Peter. Remus desperately prayed to whoever's out there that James hadn't found out about his crush on Sirius.

"Remus, are you alright?" He snapped back to reality and met Marlene's worried eyes. He sighed and mentally rolled his eyes. Why did everyone have to worry over him for the smallest things?

"I'm fine." He bit back rather fierce fully but immediately regretted it when he saw Marlene's hurt expression. "I mean, I'm fine thank you." Remus fake-smiled at her and he felt his guilt ease. He turned his attention back to his friends only to find James still staring at him smugly.

"So," James began and ruffled his messy black hair. "Valentine's day's this Friday. Got any dates?" James wriggled his eyebrows and Peter laughed. Remus however felt himself froze at the spot as his heart made an uncomfortable throb.  He had totally forgotten about Valentine's Day and had lived happily in bliss. But now that he remembered it he felt his anxiety return as he probably would have to watch Sirius ask out some girl and then proceed to snog her right in front of Remus' face.

Remus felt nauseous when he pictured Sirius wander off with the imaginary girl that looked suspiciously a lot like Sophie McLennon. He let slip a disgusted 'Yuck' when he remembered her face.

"Moony, mate, are you okay over there? I swear your face just turned green." James frowned and leaned forward to take a better look of Remus' face.

"It's nothing." Remus waved his hand in the air. He felt the irony that he that despised when others worried over him got asked the 'Are you okay' question about fifty times a day.

"So have you got a date Moony?" James asked to bring them back to the main topic.

"No." He crossed his arms and gave James a look of pure defiance.

"Okay..." James trailed off when he sensed Remus' resistance. He turned his attention to Peter instead.

"How about you Wormy?"

"No." He looked sad and like it was the greatest loss in the world. Remus gave him an incredulous look. Was he for real?

"Too bad." James shrugged as he turned his attention to Sirius.

"How about you then Sirius? Have you got yourself a date?" He grinned at Sirius before making a not-so-subtle wink.

"I don't want one." Sirius shrugged and looked back at James looking a mixture of bored and angry. Remus found his behavior suspicious.

"Why?" James squinted at Sirius and looked like someone just had told him something highly doubtful.

"Not your business." Sirius spat looking angry.

"Okay, relax mate, sheesh..." James waved his hands in the air and gave Sirius a look that told him he was sorry. Remus knew that James and Sirius almost never apologized for anything to James behavior right now was the closest to an apology as they could get.

Sirius huffed something but relaxed back into his seat. Remus frowned and glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eyes but stopped when Sirius glanced back at him. Remus gulped and resolutely stared up at the ceiling, not liking the strained silence that had invaded their usually comfortable bubble.

"Anyway, I asked out Evans earlier but she declined." James sagged his shoulders and gazed sadly out into the distance.

"So? That happens like every day." Peter said from the seat next to him. His comment got Remus and Sirius to chuckle.

"Thanks for your support Wormy, remind me that you're not invited to our wedding in the near future." James gave Peter a sharp jab in the shoulder looking hurt.

"It's alright Prongs. Taking into consideration of how slow things are going for you by the time of your wedding I'm going to be dead anyway, so no offence taken." Peter teased but then squeaked as he ducked James nearing fist.

"We should do a prank." Sirius stated suddenly. Apparently he had been lost to deep thought during James' story telling. Remus didn't blame him for not listening though since Sirius, Remus and Peter all had learned to doze off or tune James' voice out when he got into one of his Evans-moods.

"What?" James and Peter asked at the same time, with a fistful of each other's hair each.

"We should do a prank, on Valentine's day! Sirius rose from his chair and got a wicked smile on his face. Remus grabbed him by the sleeve and quickly yanked him down into his seat again. Sweet Merlin, did he want to get caught?

Sirius had gotten a mischievous glint in his eyes, and looking over at James Remus could see a matching glint in his. Peter looked a mixture between excited and terrified and Remus himself felt torn. He loved the rush he got from executing pranks, but the guilt he felt if they got caught made him waver. He decided that he would have to wait for the crucial moment before he made the decision of joining in or not.

"Yes! It'll be brilliant!" James shouted, earning them a couple of irritated looks from the other students sitting by the Gryffindor table.

The four boys (or mostly three) shared ideas with each other for a couple of minutes before they decided it was time to head back to the Gryffindor Tower. When they reached their dorm James dug out his Quidditch outfit from his trunk, grabbed his broom and was off to Quidditch practice. He shouted something about the upcoming match against Ravenclaw that Saturday but the door was slammed shut behind him before Remus could really make out what he was saying.

Peter grabbed his half-done Transfiguration's essay along with some ink and quill and then he left the dorm as well. Remus gulped when he realized that the dorm was left to him and Sirius.

Remus was sitting on the edge of his bed while listening to the thumping sound of his heart echoing in his ears. He had some trouble finding out whether he felt anxious about telling Sirius the truth about the bullies or feeling nervous due to the fact that his handsome crush was walking over to sit down next to him.

Remus felt the bed dip next to him as Sirius sat down unnecessarily close to him. Their thighs were almost touching and Remus felt his cheeks heat when he felt Sirius grab his right hand to hold with his own.

"Remus?" He asked in a low voice.

Remus used every last bit of his willpower to stop the shiver that threatened to overtake his body. Shaking his head at himself Remus answered.

"Yes, Sirius?" He stared at their clasped hands that lay positioned in Sirius' lap.

"Don't you have something you want to tell me?" Sirius tried, giving Remus' hand a reassuring squeeze.

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He now realized that he hadn't told the story to anyone before. Remus scolded himself for always keeping secrets; they were all bound to be found out about later anyway, so why bother?

Remus gave a sarcastic chuckle as he opened his eyes to look Sirius in his eyes. But when their eyes met Remus felt his breath hitch and heart do a somersault. Sirius looked deeply into his eyes, wearing a genuine expression that told Remus he could trust him. So he did.

"It all began somewhere around last November," Remus tore his gaze away from Sirius wonderful but interrogating expression. "I left the hospital wing later than usual, so I took a detour to avoid eventual wandering students." He frowned down at his knees. "Lost in thoughts as I was I didn't notice the approaching steps until I was ambushed. They asked me why I was wandering around at the castle at such a late hour, what I did alone without my 'disgraceful-pack-of-so-called-friends', they mocked me for my scars and asked me what they came from and then they called me a 'bloody half-blood' and aimed their wands at me."

Remus took a paus to glance over at Sirius. He felt a mixture of safe and insecure when he saw Sirius facial features screw up in a furious frown. It looked like he was on the verge of killing someone and his free hand was curled into a fist that clenched and unclenched alarmingly. Remus gulped and quickly turned down his head to stare at his knees again.

"I tried to brush them off me but they kept following me around, so I raised my wand as well. But they were four against one and one of them cast an Expelliarmus before I even had time to voice a spell of my own. Without a wand I only had two choices; I either surrender or fight without a wand." He sighed and lifted his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"As you probably know I avoid fights if I can, but not only because I'm against violence but because of my heightened strength. I don't usually voice this thought outload but I'm afraid of hurting someone badly if I end up in a fight." Remus smiled sadly down at their hands when he felt Sirius give him another encouraging squeeze.

"I can't afford to accidentally hurt anyone. If someone found out about it or the person tell a teacher I could get expelled, or worse." Remus felt an uncomfortable shiver that shook his body. "The point is; if I fight my secret might slip out and I don't want that. After all, I don't think it would take long for people to guess what I am if they found out that I'd beaten down four bigger students on my own."

Sirius nodded but didn't say anything. Considering that he was almost fueling from repressed fury Remus thought it was for the best.

"So that's why I didn't fight back that day. Of course I could've beaten them down if I wanted to, but unlike them I can't afford to slip up. Not even once." He sighed.

"I felt mostly irritated at the time. I wanted to fight back so badly but didn't. I couldn't blame anyone but myself, and the fact that I just let them hurt me made me feel disgusted by myself. That's also why didn't want to tell anyone about it, I didn't want anyone else to be mad at me. I was frustrated but kept silent about it. Well, until now then." Remus huffed sarcastically as he stared up at the ceiling.

Sirius was an incredibly good listener, almost keeping totally quiet and nodding at the right places. Remus felt the affection for the other boy swell his chest. Sirius was too good for him. Too kind and understanding.

"Since then they have bothered me from time to time, sometimes more frequently. I guess they find me an easy target when I'm alone, since I don't fight back. I have to admit that I feel a bit uneasy when they corner me but I'm not even remotely as weak as they think I am." Remus said angrily.

"Anyhow, last Monday was the first time they tried something since last month. I thought they had finally gotten bored of me and moved on to torment another poor bastard, so I let my guard down and that's when they showed up."

"Who was it?" Sirius whispered carefully next to him.

This was it. Remus was finally going to tell him.

"It was Rosier, Crouch, Avery… and Snape." He mumbled, mostly to his knees.

"Damn," Sirius hissed through gritted teeth. He let go of Remus' hand in favor of punching his own palm while hissing something about 'Greasy git'.

"Sirius-" Remus started but was interrupted by Sirius' loud voice.

"Snape was in on this? Slimy Snivellus Snape bullied you behind my back?" Sirius looked a mixture between hurt and furious when he reached out to grab Remus' shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, ehm," Remus trailed off.

"Tell me!" Sirius pleaded when he forced Remus to look him in the eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you alright?" Remus wriggled out from Sirius' strong grip and flattened down his wrinkled robes. He cleared his throat before he continued.

"They threatened me okay? They told me that if I got anyone involved or tried to out them to any of the professors they would make my life a living hell. And since all they really did was delivering a couple of punches or shout mean words at me I thought I could handle it and keep it to myself. I'm sorry that I didn't tell to earlier Padfoot, but now you know. In fact you're the only one that knows."

Remus gave Sirius an apologetic look and shrugged. "I don't like how it all turned out with me laying petrified in a cold alcove but there's nothing I can do about it. It's four against one and if I fight back without my wand they might figure out my secret, and I simply can't risk that." He gave Sirius an uneasy smile when he finished.

Remus didn't tell Sirius that he was thankful that the bullies tormented him because he was skinny, pale and looked funny with his scars. He was grateful that those prejudiced Slytherins hadn't found out about his lycanthrope, or about the fact that he was very gay for his best friend. He suspected that they wouldn't take those news very well.

"It's okay Remus." Sirius broke the silence and turned around on the bed to look him in the eyes.

"I's going to be all right. I'll make sure of that." He gave Remus a kind smile that warmed Remus up inside. He felt the butterflies in his stomach return when Sirius reached out to pat Remus on the back.

"Thank you for telling me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Thank you." He gave Remus one of his award-winning crooked grins and Remus felt his insides melt and brain stop to function. Sweet Merlin, Sirius was too beautiful.

"No, ehm, thank you for listening Padfoot," Remus murmured, turning his gaze away from Sirius inhuman beauty.

He felt his cheeks heat up when Sirius leaned forward and embraced him in a warm hug. Remus' entire body tensed up at first but when he heard Sirius' hum approvingly he felt his body relax and he answered the hug.

He placed his head in the juncture between Sirius' neck and shoulder and took a deep breath. His nostrils immediately met with the unique scent of Sirius. The special scent of shampoo from his hair, the lingering smell of rain from his skin at the collar and the very faint but still noticeable scent of worn leather that still lingered on Sirius' shirt from when he wore it a while ago.

Remus felt all his worries run off him as he relished in the sweet sensation of Sirius. He felt a shaky smile splay his lips when the gratefulness he felt for Sirius almost got unbearable.

He burrowed his face further down in the juncture. He bathed in the wonderful feel of Sirius being so close to him and vaguely felt Sirius swipe his hands up and down his back.

Remus thought that he could make something up about being sad and needing consolation if Sirius wondered why he didn't let go of the hug, but Sirius didn't ask, he simply hugged Remus' body closer to him while humming approving words such as 'It's going to be all right' or 'They're not going to hurt you again'.

Remus felt almost drunk from the hug since his head was spinning, heart pounding like crazy and the butterflies started to make him feel nauseous, but in a good way. He never wanted to let go. Not when he finally had Sirius for himself and solely caring about him, swiping his hands up and down Remus' back comfortingly.

Remus tightened his grip around Sirius' shoulders and was just about to take another deep breath of his unique scent when he heard the door slam open.

"I- wha-, should I come back later?" Remus recognized James' surprised voice coming from the direction of their door. Then he heard Sirius mumble something incoherent before he slowly let go of Remus' close embrace, leaving him feeling suddenly cold and empty.

"Have I missed something?" James asked from where he was walking toward his own bed, across from Remus'.

"No," Sirius brushed his fringe from his face, trying to pull off an act of nonchalance. "We were just talking that's all." He rose up from the bed and walked over to his own, next to James'. He shot Remus an apologetic look over his shoulder.

Remus could only frown in response. What did he have to look sorry for? He had just listened to Remus tell him something he was uncomfortable about and then given him the most wonderful hug in his life. He did he look sorry?

"Last time I checked 'talking' didn't include clinging onto each other like your lives depended on it, but if you say so..." James gave Sirius a teasing look before he wriggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sod off Prongs." Sirius mumbled before he threw a pillow at him.

"Ha ha, that's all you've got _Siri_?" James picked up the pillow and threw it back to land at Sirius' head, successfully messing up his hair in the process.

"Don't call me that!" Sirius picked up one pillow in each hand as he walked over to jab them in James' face. "Watch out, cause here I come, _Jamie_!"

Remus sighed from where he still sat positioned at the edge of his bed. Sometimes he wondered if he accidentally had been placed to share a dorm with the first years but then he remembered how childish his friends could be.

Just as Sirius and James had moved their pillow fight to the floor the door slammed open again. Remus looked up to see Peter walk into the dorm, arms filled to the brim with sweets. Remus felt his mood rise when he spotted a couple of chocolate frogs at the top of the pile.

Smiling he rose up from the bed and walked over to greet Peter in the doorway.


	4. Day three - part two

**_Day three - part two_ **

"Has everyone that wants to play sat down? Great, then we'll start!" James bellowed from where he sat with a small piece of parchment in front of him.

After Peter had joined in on the pillow fight and shouted for Remus to join as well he had felt his wall's breach as he succumbed to the fight. After about one hour of flying pillows, team building and bed jumping later James had stood as the winner. He had quickly declared that his price was to host a game of Truth or Dare, or as he liked to call it 'The brave James' brilliant game of Truth or Dare'.

Remus felt himself being dragged down to sit down at the cold floor of the common room. Now he sat in a pretty big circle with about ten other students as he listened to James declare the rules of the game.

James had gathered a fair amount of players, mostly by bribing them with the candy Peter had brought with him. Remus sat in between Sirius and Peter that sat next to James. Around them sat many familiar faces, mostly other Gryffindor fourth years. Remus spotted the faces of Lily's friends Marlene, Alice and Dorcas but Lily herself sat at a table further down in the common room, sending death glares their way.

Remus glanced around some more and spotted Mary, Frank and Gideon. Then there was two brave second years that almost vibrated with suppressed excitement. He recognized them as being Greg Trond and Sue Goldberg, famous for being the marauder's biggest fans. Remus hoped his friends would take it easy with them but if he knew them right they would love to see them quiver under the pressure of different dares.

Twelve people for a game of Truth or Dare were not bad. Remus thought that perhaps they were so many that he would be forgotten in the crowd. Then he could sneak out a book from his bag and read instead of having to participate in the silly game.

He was snapped back from his thoughts when he heard James clear his throat.

"Welcome to the brave James' brilliant game of Truth or Dare! The rules are simple; one person at a time asks anyone of us Truth or Dare. The person that got asked is the next one to ask someone else, all right?" He glanced around the circle before he continued.

"Each player can only take the same choice twice in a row, so if you've done two dare's you need to take truth the next time." He grinned with a mad glint in his eyes.

"You get only one 'pass' and after you use it you either go along with the game or drop out if you don't want to answer a question or go through with a dare. Any questions?"

Most of the players shook their heads or fiddled with their robes as they waited for the game to start. Remus wrapped his arms around his knees as he waited for James just to get this over with already. They had played this game probably twenty times already and if he didn't hurry up Remus was going to fall asleep out of boredom.

To Remus delight though James soon called the game started and he directed his first question to Dorcas that choosed Truth.

"Does Evans fancy me?" He asked with a cocky grin. Remus thought he heard a 'Dream on, Potter!" being shouted from Lily's direction but didn't turn around to find out if it was true or just his imagination playing a trick on him.

"Why would you ask me that?" Dorcas looked offended but Remus didn't blame her, he would be too if someone used his Truth to ask a question about someone else.

"Come on, no counter-questions, yes or no?" James ruffled his hair. "I bet it's a 'yes'." He grinned at her confidently.

"No, she doesn't." Dorcas crossed her arms and turned around so that she didn't have to face James when she turned her attention to the two second years instead. She asked the one Remus remembered as being a 'Sue', which answered Truth.

"Why are you here?" Dorcas spat. The younger girl's cheeks turned into bright red as he sputtered to find the words. Remus rolled his eyes when he realized that Dorcas was taking out the anger James had inflicted in her on the innocent second year.

"I- ehm, I-" Sue stuttered. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not sign up for this.

"Give her a break, would you?" Remus quickly turned his head to the side where he saw Sirius glaring at Dorcas.

"Come on, I don't mean anything by it. I thought I was being funny." She shrugged but stopped with her teasing and mumbled a barely audible apology to Sue.

Remus' eyes widened and he felt his affection for Sirius swell in his chest again. Did Sirius just stand up for that girl? But then Remus frowned. Usually Sirius would be the one to initiate teasing younger students, so why did he stand up for them now?

Remus got lost in his thoughts as Sue asked Peter, that asked Marlene, that asked Frank, that asked Alice, that asked Gideon, that asked James. After a mixture of easy questions and dares such as 'What's your favorite subject' or 'I dare you to hold your breath for one minute' James decided that it was time to turn the tables.

"Padfoot, truth or Dare?" He smirked smugly from where he leaned on one of his knees, looking Sirius challenging in the eyes.

"Dare." Sirius smirked back.

The circle of Gryffindor's had turned silent as they all watched the exchange between James and Sirius. What was he going to ask him to do?

"I dare you to sit in Moony's lap." James spoke in a low, clear voice as he reached out his hand to position at Remus' lap who felt his cheeks heat up when the words sunk in.

"W-what?" Remus piped, feeling eleven pair of eyes turn to him.

"Okay." Sirius told James when he swiftly glanced back at him. Then he rose up from the floor and walked a step to the side to position himself in front of Remus.

Remus felt his entire body heat up when he found himself staring at Sirius trouser-clad ass that was in perfect eye's height from where Remus was sitting. He suddenly wasn't sure if he was happy about the fact that Sirius had let go of his school robe earlier. He could see the rounding of his buttocks clearly.

Sirius crouched down on the spot before he slowly sat down in Remus' lap. Remus felt heat radiate from his own body when he felt Sirius' butt come in contact with him, and then felt his heart start pounding like crazy in his chest when Sirius leaned back to press his back against Remus' chest. Sirius wriggled on the spot, tried to make himself comfortable, and Remus bit his lip. He used up every last ounce of his determination to try and control his body from reacting inappropriate on its own.

"For how long?" He hears Sirius ask mockingly from where he was positioned on his lap. Remus could not see his face but thought that it might be for the best. Remus tried to cover his own suspiciously scarlet face by leaning in closer to hide behind Sirius' dark curls.

"Until I say you can move." James smirked smugly at Sirius.

"Fine." Sirius said, leaning back on Remus some more, apparently not sensing the inhuman heat that radiated from Remus' body.

Remus had expected Sirius to argue with James, or even use up his only 'pass'. He didn't know how to feel about this.

As he tried to sort out his confusing emotions he turned his head a bit to the side to glance over at James. He immediately regretted that decision when he saw James cockily grin at him. Remus was now starting to question his choice of friends. Why did he allow himself do end up in situations like this?

Their circle of playing students had gone suspiciously quiet but now the others started chatting again, all waiting for Sirius to go on with the game. Remus couldn't help but to feel like the game had taken another turn after the last event.

"Mary, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." She answered Sirius with a challenging look.

Sirius brought his thumb up to his lower lip as he thought out a fitting task. Remus now felt frustrated over the fact that he couldn't watch Sirius' face.

"Give the best looking person here a kiss on the cheek." Sirius demanded and waved his hand around the circle, showing her that he meant the best looking person among the eleven other players.

"That's easy." She winked at Sirius and Remus felt anger rise up in him as he watched Mary stand up and walk over to where they sat. She leaned down to plant a kiss on Sirius' cheek, but what Remus thought was going to be a quick peck though turned out to be the longest and least subtle kiss on the cheek Remus had ever witnessed. When she finally let go she winked at Sirius and Remus suddenly felt the urgent need to vomit.

He heard James made a catcall from somewhere behind him as he watched Mary sit back down, flattening out her skirt underneath her. Remus felt his fury return dangerously close to the surface. He shocked himself from the extent of the possessiveness he felt for Sirius. Suddenly he didn't care about the fact that he and Mary had known each other for over four years and that she was one of Lily's closest friends. He wanted her gone.

"Moony are you alright?"

He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Sirius' nose bump into his, making him jerk at the spot. His breath hitched and he almost fell down on the ground in shock from Sirius close proximity.

"W-what are you doing?" Remus sputtered as he desperately tried to turn his face away from Sirius', not trusting himself to stay so close to the lips from his dreams.

"I heard you mumble something sounding very angry so I turned around to ask you what's the matter but you seemed to be in your own little world, possibly fuming from suppressed rage or something. I was going to turn back again and wait for you to calm down but then you snapped out of it," Sirius babbled in a low whisper, not wanting the others to hear. Remus thought it was an unnecessary long explanation so he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"It's nothing. I'm alright, I promise." Remus lied as he tried to make his voice sound as steady as possible. He didn't know whether Sirius could sense that he wasn't telling the truth or not, but he gave Remus a small smile, curt nod and then turned his head back. The game was going on but Remus couldn't concentrate on it. Not with his secret crush sitting on his lap, smelling like the most wonderful scents from his fantasizes.

Remus snapped his head to the side when he heard James clear his throat. He looked Remus into his eyes, then looked at Sirius and back at Remus again and nodded. What?

Remus squinted his eyes as he tried to make some kind of sense from James' peculiar gestures but then James waved his hand in the air, making a small 'tch', and shook his head. Remus was frowning now. What the hell?

James turned his attention back to the game and Remus was left to stare at his profile, though he quickly snapped his head back to stare at Sirius' back head when he felt Sirius wriggle around above him.

"What are you doing?" He hissed.

"Just trying to get more comfortable. You're bony." Sirius shrugged apologetically and wriggled some more. Remus was sitting cross-legged and there was really only one way to sit in his lap. He didn't understand what Sirius was going on about.

Sirius finally stopped moving around. He leaned back against Remus again and hummed when he placed his head on Remus left shoulder. Remus felt his heart skip a beat when Sirius' hot breath brushed over his cheek.

He turned his gaze away from Sirius to stare at the second year called Greg while he fervently tried to picture Dumbledore in his underwear. He imagined Slughorn next but nothing seemed to stop the heat he felt shooting to his lower areas from Sirius' being so close to him.

He felt his face flush from a mixture between shame and excitement when he felt Sirius' trouser-clad buttocks brush against the front of his pants. But then he panicked when he realized that Sirius' might freak out if he felt something hard suddenly rub against his butt, so Remus quickly began to wriggle around where he sat and placed his hands on Sirius' back, trying to push him away a bit.

"What are you doing?" Sirius whispered when he turned his gaze to give Remus a confused look.

"Nothing, I just, I'm hot." Remus blurted. He mentally punched himself for that. Sweet Merlin, did he want Sirius to think he was a pervert?

"It's very warm over here, I mean." Remus cleared his throat and ridiculously turned his head around so that Sirius was left to stare at the back of his head.

"Yeah I know," Sirius mumbled. "Why don't you remove your robe?"

He felt Sirius tug at his sleeve but Remus quickly retrieved his hand, bringing it protectively up his chest.

"No, I'm fine." He snapped. He did not want to take of the only shield he had between him and Sirius. Plus, without it Sirius might be able to spot the bulge in his trousers and that would be too awkward to even comprehend.

"Okay, if you say so." Sirius hummed and the vibrations through Remus' whole body, making him resist the urge to shiver. He sighed as a way to distract Sirius from sensing the effect he had on him. Remus was sweaty all over when he turned his head to the other side so that he could send pleading looks over to James, but said James didn't pay him any attention so Remus was left staring at the side of his head. Remus closed his eyes in frustration. He didn't know how much more of this he could take before Sirius, or anyone for that matter, suspected anything.

Remus let out a frustrated grunt but quickly turned it into a thoughtful 'hmm' when he felt Sirius' body tense up on his lap. Sirius cast him another suspicious glance over his shoulder to which Remus shrugged.

Finally turning his attention back to the game Remus saw Alice blow Frank a kiss. Remus thought that she probably had been dared to do that since she asked Peter next.

"Dare." Peter straightened his posture as he awaited the mission.

"Hmm..." Alice glanced around the circle for a couple of seconds before she turned her attention back to Peter. "I dare you to kiss Dorcas." She giggled. Remus could hear a couple of gasps coming from several of the participants; this was the first kiss-dare of the evening. The game had taken another turn.

While Remus watched Peter stand up to deliver his kiss to Dorcas Remus realized that he hadn't been asked anything yet. First he felt relieved but then uneasiness creeped up to settle in his belly. If someone else realized that he hadn't been asked yet they were probably going to ask him, and by the way the game had played out Remus didn't fancy the idea of being asked.

When Peter sat down on the ground between James and Remus with Sirius in his lap, red in the face but looking significantly proud he cleared his throat.

"Remus, Truth or Dare?"

Damn.

"Ehm," Remus started, trying to peek though Sirius' hair to make eye contact with Peter. Perhaps he hadn't been asked because Sirius was blocking him...

"I think I pick... Truth." Remus nodded to himself. Sure, he had many secrets he would like keep to himself but he could always lie. To be forced to do something he didn't want to however Remus found much worse. He remembered that he still had his 'pass' as a backup, but for now he would do his best to answer his Truth and save the 'pass' for later.

Peter hummed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something just as James draped his arm around Peter's shoulders and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

Remus frowned. What was so important that he had to interrupt Peter just as he was going to deliver Remus his Truth? But when Remus saw James let go of Peter with a smug smirk on his face Remus realized what the display had been all about. James had told Peter something he would ask.

Remus ran his palm over his face as he watched Peter give James a confused but interested look. Remus knew that Peter would do almost anything James told him and thus felt the uneasiness return with great fervor when Peter spoke.

"Do you fancy any of the birds at Hogwarts?" Peter looked over his shoulder and received an approving nod from James before he turned his attention back to Remus. He looked at Remus, curiosity visible in his eyes.

Remus relaxed and let out the breath he'd been holding. This was an easy one.

"No." He said simply and even gave Peter a small smile in response. Of course he didn't fancy any of the girls, why would he when he was already head over heels for Sirius?

"O-okay." Peter nodded but then looked confused. Remus wondered whether he'd answered accordingly or not. Probably not.

"Greg, Truth or Dare?" The second year jerked on the spot before he stuttered out a 'Dare'. Remus dared him to hold hands with Sue and tried to ignore the shouts of 'Boring!' that came from James' direction.

Greg held Sue's hand and asked Mary that asked Gideon that asked Frank that asked James. When James was done with his dare where he had to give Mary a massage he cleared his throat and turned his attention to Sirius.

"Padfoot, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth"

Remus saw the opportunity and shot James another pleading look, begging him to allow Sirius to stand up. It must have been at least over twenty minutes by now, or perhaps even over an hour. Remus didn't know the concept of time anymore; his brain had left him the moment Sirius sat down on his lap.

"What traits do you find attractive?" James asked in a serious tone.

"Want to hook me up? Sorry Prongs, but you're not my type." Sirius chuckled as he grinned back at James.

"Tch, dream on. You know what I meant." He crossed his arms. "Go on, I don't have all night." He grinned at Sirius confidently.

Sirius was quiet for a while, probably gathering his thoughts.

"Hmm... It's kind of a tricky question, but I guess..." He trailed off and gazed of in the distance. But then he jerked and suddenly started talking with remarkable speed.

"I find it really attractive when someone's good looking but doesn't know about it. Like they're hot like damn but they just don't know it." He waved his hands in the air to make a point. "And it's really attractive when someone has their own opinion. Like when they always have something to add or can meet you in an argument."

"But the most attractive thing..." He trailed off with a sigh. "The most attractive thing is a smile, a genuine smile that comes straight from the heart and can't be hold back." Sirius got a dreamy smile on his lips as he stared at a piece of dirt in the middle of the circle. Remus could hear giggles and hushed, excited whispers coming from the corner where Mary, Marlene and Dorcas sat. They were probably swooning over Sirius like crazy, wondering if he perhaps meant any of them with his description.

But they weren't the only ones swooning over Sirius. Remus heart almost hurt in his chest from the extent of the longing he felt. He wanted so badly to just lift his arms and wrap them around Sirius' chest and then press a kiss to his neck.. He was literally so close, but Remus didn't move a muscle. His entire body ached with longing and he couldn't help but to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Sirius could have meant him just then? However, Remus' small bubble of hope quickly burst when he heard one of the girls giggle again. Of course Sirius meant one of them.

Remus closed his eyes and shook his head. He was pathetic for even considering Sirius liking him back.

"That's deep." James said with a serious expression.

"Yeah, but it's true." Sirius shot James a crooked smile and Remus felt his breath hitch when he saw it.

"You can go back to your own seat now by the way." James nodded his head reassuringly at Sirius. Remus surprised himself by feeling resistance from himself. Suddenly he didn't want Sirius to leave.

"O-okay." Sirius mumbled when he returned his gaze to stare at the floor. Remus waited for him to jump up from his lap as soon as he got the chance but he didn't. He seemed almost reluctant.

Remus frowned in confusion but then Sirius rose slowly to his feet and Remus came eye-to-eye with his trousers clad ass again. Feeling his cheeks heat up he turned down his head to stare at his lap. When he saw that the robe had gone up at the side he fumbled around to rearrange his robes to cover his legs. He desperately hoped that no one had seen the suspicious bulge in his pants.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sirius slump down on the floor next to him. He cleared his throat and then asked Alice.

After Alice had asked Marlene, that asked James, that asked Gideon, that asked Dorcas, that asked Frank Remus slowly felt himself relax. Perhaps the game would end soon and he could slip though without getting any more questions.

He watched as Alice, Frank, Greg, Sue and Gideon suddenly all rose from their places almost at the same time. They said their goodbyes and all give different excuses to why they had to leave. Remus didn't blame them, it was getting pretty late and if the game wasn't hosted by one of his best friends he would have made up an excuse and left long ago.

Since it was Frank's turn to ask but he left James got to ask the next question.

"Mary, Truth or Dare? James asked with a confident grin.

"Truth." She batted her eyelashes at him.

"What's your biggest insecurity?" He looked deeply into her eyes as her smile faltered.

"Ehm... I don't know? Perhaps that I suck at writing essays. I'm not exactly proud to say that I suck in school." She frowned but shrugged all worried off of her. "But it's okay." She smiled reassuringly at James before he turned her attention to Sirius, suddenly looking very interested.

"Sirius, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." He said simply.

Mary looked taken off guard for a second but then straightened her posture and cleared her throat.

"I dare you to tell us if you fancy anyone." She smiled smugly at him.

"Wait, did you just turn my dare into a truth?" Sirius asked confused, turned around to James and asked "Isn't she breaking the rules?"

"I don't know mate. The rules don't say anything about that." He shrugged.

"But you made the rules!" Sirius frowned and waved his hands in the air. James only laughed at him. Peter, Marlene and Dorcas joined in as well.

"Okay, fine." Sirius murmured, his voice lower than before. "I do."

Mary gave a surprised gasp and reached her hand up to cover her mouth. Peter did a surprised squeak and James opened his mouth in shock voicing a silent 'What?' but when Remus got a closer look of James' expression he thought he saw James hid a snicker under his hand. He didn't look shocked at all, in fact he looked amused.

Remus heart sank to the very pit of his stomach when he gave Sirius' answer a thought over. Here he had it. The truth.

He shook his head as he defeated stared at the floor. This was the proof he needed to qualify his assumptions about Sirius and Sophie McLennon. Sirius fancied her after all. Or perhaps it was Mary, after all Sirius hadn't complained when she gave him a kiss on the cheek earlier. Remus shook his head again. It didn't matter who it was, the point was that Sirius fancied someone else and that Remus' crush would stay one sided forever.

Suddenly Remus didn't feel like playing the game for much longer. His heart clenched painfully in his chest and he felt tears prickle in his eyes. He was really pathetic for letting Sirius affect him like this but he couldn't help it. He liked him too much. And he knew that he would literally break if he had to listen to the others pressing Sirius for more information about whichever girl he fancied.

Just as Remus made to stand up he felt a pat on his back. Looking up from the spot he had been staring at Remus eyes met Sirius'. He felt his heart get stuck in his throat and suddenly he didn't know if he wanted to cry from despair or laugh in rejoice. One look from Sirius was still all it took to melt all his worries away and Remus felt his chest swell with affection for the other boy.

"Alright over there Moony?" He asked, looking concerned but with a kind smile on his lips.

Remus nodded in response. He didn't trust his voice at the time. He was afraid that he might burst out crying or splutter out his feeling for Sirius before he had time to notice what he was doing.

Sirius smiled at him at that and then reached out his hand to ruffle Remus' hair. Remus had to suppress the giggle that wanted to escape though his lips when his body reacted to Sirius' fond gesture. He immediately felt warm all over and he wanted to stay like that all evening, but the moment was over in the blink of an eye. Remus flattened out his hair and Sirius cleared his throat as he turned his attention back to the others.

"Prongs, Truth or Dare?" Sirius asked James.

"Dare." He gave Sirius a mocking look.

"I dare you to kiss the hottest one here." He smirked at him when James rose up from the floor. "And I know it's tempting, but please don't pick me." Sirius ducked James' badly aimed punch as they both chuckled to his joke.

James walked over to Marlene, kneaded down and leaned in to plant a quick but firm kiss on her lips. When he was done he proudly walked back to his seat next to Peter. Remus thought Marlene's cheeks were red tainted, but it was difficult to say from where she was being thrown into an ocean of girly giggles by Dorcas and Mary.

Watching the girls fuss over James Remus suddenly realized that Marlene probably fancied James, Dorcas fancied Peter for sure and Mary fancied Sirius. That left Remus to be the fifth wheel.

He felt the uncomfortable lump in his throat return. That's probably why they hadn't asked him that many questions. He was only a filler.

Remus suddenly felt the need to cry again but he steered himself. He could do this. He would continue to play the game until it ended. (Then he could cry in the safety of his drawn curtains and silencing charms.)

When Marlene asked Dorcas to kiss the sexiest person among them Remus wasn't sure whenever he wanted to strange them or himself. This game was a waste of his time and it was now turning out to be a surreal mixture between extremely silly and awkward. All that he knew was that he felt extremely out of place and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Remus wasn't surprised when Dorcas walked up to Peter to plant a disgustingly audible kiss on his lips. His opportunities to flee the scene was minimized due to the fact that he sat next to Peter and he desperately tried to keep himself from vomiting when he heard Dorcas voice a gasp. Remus had never felt gayer.

When Dorcas sat down again she asked Marlene that picked Truth. She asked her when her first kiss was and with whom. She answered 'It was in third year with this boy Thomas, a fifth year Hufflepuff at the time.' Remus didn't know if she tried to impress anyone by telling them that he was older than her. If she tried she failed because Remus was so bored he could fall asleep at the spot.

However, all Remus' fantasizes about sleep halted down to a stop when he heard Marlene ask Sirius Truth or Dare. He picked Truth.

"Tell us a secret." She asked with a cocky smile while looking extremely interested in the answer.

"There's many," Sirius teased, giving her a cocky smile of his own. "But let me see... I don't think the person I like fancy me back." Sirius gave her a sad sigh.

Marlene, Mary and Dorcas voiced a sad 'Naww' each, Peter looked constipated and James narrowed his eyes at Sirius. Remus felt his mouth fall open into an 'o' as his brain worked like crazy.

That didn't make sense. From the way Sophie McLennon literally clung to Sirius' arm yesterday it was fairly obvious that she liked him. And if the dreamily eyed expressions Sirius so often received from almost half of the girls at Hogwarts they all liked him one way or another. The thought that whoever Sirius fancied wouldn't like him back wasn't just odd - it was alien.

Sirius cleared his throat and then asked Peter a question. Then Peter asked Dorcas who asked Mary who asked James. Remus still hadn't got another question and now he really regretted that he hadn't left early with the others. He could be reading right now, or perhaps even get a couple of hours more of sleep.

"Padfoot, Truth or Dare?" James voice broke though Remus' trail of thoughts.

"Dare." Sirius crossed his arms. James seemed had made somewhat of a habit of asking Sirius as soon he got the change.

"I dare you to tell your best pick-up-line." He smiled his mockery grin again.

"To whom?" Sirius narrowed his eyes, getting ready for the challenge.

"To Moony."

Remus froze at the spot. What?

"Alright. A dare's a dare after all." He shrugged as he turned around at the spot so that he faced Remus with a mischievous grin.

Remus felt nervous when he looked into Sirius' eyes. James definitely had something in mind. Why did he set Sirius up to torment Remus as soon as he got the chance? Remus wondered if perhaps James had found out about his crush and did this to mock him. He had always imagined James' as being a straightforward, good friend that always stood by your side when you needed it, but perhaps he had gotten it wrong. Perhaps he had found out about Remus' crush and now would use it to set him up, prank him or torment him by having to hear Sirius swoon him with pick-up-lines.

"Do you have a map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes." Sirius leaned in closer and laid a hand on Remus' shoulder. He looked Remus deeply into his eyes and Remus was glad for the fact that they sat down because his knees felt alarmingly weak when Sirius gave him a cheeky smile.

"You're so hot, even my pants are falling for you." Remus' eyes widened and his mouth fell agape. He felt a blush heat up in his cheeks and then spread through his body.

"Your ass is so nice it's a shame that you have to sit on it." Sirius lowered his gaze to motion to the direction of Remus' bum.

Sirius turned his gaze up, but his eyes didn't return to look into Remus' as they settled on Remus' lips instead. Remus' felt a spark of excitement shoot through his body when he saw Sirius smirk.

"Your lips look lonely. Would they like to meet mine?" He asked, voice low and clear, making Remus shiver. Sirius let go of Remus' shoulder and leaned back, but gave him a wink before he turned his gaze to the floor in front of them.

"Okay enough Padfoot, I only told you to say one remember?" James wriggled his eyebrows at Sirius but still looked a bit confused. "Sorry, thought you said 'lines' and not 'line'." Sirius mumbled in response.

Remus saw Mary share an offended look with Dorcas before they both turned to send death glares Remus' way. Remus was left to feel extremely confused from where he sat next to Sirius.

One part of Remus, the irrational part, liked to think that Sirius had meant what he said, but the other part of him knew that he had only said those things to him because of the dare. He wouldn't ever have done it otherwise.

Sirius cleared his throat before he turned his attention back to Remus.

"Moony, Truth or Dare?"

Oh.

Remus worked out the worst scenarios from both options in his head, going through everything from having to reveal his crush to having to kiss someone he dislikes. After a couple of seconds of arguing with himself he settled for truth.

"Truth." Remus tried to look as normal as possible when he shrugged but if he looked like he felt that gesture didn't do much to cover up his nervousness.

"Do you fancy _anyone_?" Sirius sent Remus a scrutinizing look.

Remus was just going to tell him that he had already answered that question when the reality dawned upon him. Sirius had said anyone, not girl or boy. He'd set up a trap.

Remus knew that he had to either tell them the truth or find some way around it. He still had his 'pass', but he had a feeling he might need it more later so he gathered his Gryffindor courage and straightened his posture.

"Yes." He said.

He heard a couple of gasps coming from the girl's corner and Peter gave a confused squeak, but what sounded the most was James' loud "Ohhh!"

Remus dared a glance back at Sirius, expecting him to look disgusted or disapproving but when Remus saw his face he startled. Sirius wore a mischievous smile and his eyes glistened with suppressed happiness.

Perhaps Remus had missed a joke Sirius had heard right before he spoke?

"Your turn Moony." Sirius chuckled from next to him, failing to suppress his joyful laughter. Remus started to feel irritated now. Was Sirius really going to make fun of him for kind-of-almost-confessing that he was gay? The lump in his throat returned but he coughed a couple of times to try to get rid of it. It didn't work.

"Prongs, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." James gave him a challenging look but Remus simply gave him a tired stare in return. He was really over this stupid game by now.

"I dare you to say 'I'm a wanker' three times in a row." He staged a yawn just to get his point across. If James got a boring dare and saw how tired Remus was perhaps he would end the game sooner.

"That's easy! I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker." James looked proud of himself, for what reason Remus didn't know. His plan to manipulate James to end the game early had failed miserably.

"Moony, Truth or Dare?"

What?

Remus narrowed his eyes at James. Why was he suddenly so interesting?

"Truth." Remus said just to mock James. He had already said truth two times in a row so he should feel obligated to say dare. But by the excited look on James' face Remus had apparently answered accordingly.

"Who is it that you fancy?"

Remus froze at the spot. He was trapped. Why had he not seen this coming?

"Eh," He started, madly fidgeting with the sleeves of his robe, feeling the nervous sweat break out again. That's when he remembered - he'd still got his 'pass'.

"Pass!" Remus almost shouted feeling immensely relieved. He could keep his secret for himself a while longer after all.

James however did not look relieved. He gasped, clasped a hand over his mouth and stared at Remus, like he'd just said something very unfitting.

"Dorcas, Truth or Dare?" Remus was eager to move on with the game, wanting to move the attention away from him.  
She answered dare and had to hold her breath for ten seconds.

"Sirius, Truth or Dare?" She asked when she was done.

"Dare." Sirius answered after swiftly sending a glance at Remus.

"I dare you to kiss Mary." She giggled and then patted Mary on her back. Mary batted her eyelashes at Sirius, making Remus feel nauseous again.

"Pass."

Remus' mouth fell agape and he heard Mary squeak a 'What!?' No one could understand why Sirius would give up a perfect opportunity to kiss a girl. After all, Sirius had put on a show of being a 'ladies' man' for the past year or so. They all expected him to shout in joy at the opportunity, not to turn it down.

Remus felt confused but happy at the same time. Happy that he didn't need to watch Sirius kiss someone else right in front of him.

Remus shook his head as he tried to sort out his thoughts. He turned his head to the side to look over at James and that's when he saw it.

James looked between Remus and Sirius again, but this time he had an odd glint in his eyes. He looked almost like he had finally found the solution to a difficult problem that had troubled him for a long time. James marvelously flicked his gaze from Remus to Sirius, wearing an astonishing smile all the while. Remus had to look away after a while. Merlin, was it only him or didn't both James and Sirius act weird tonight? Perhaps they had accidentally hit their heads during the pillow fight earlier...

After Sirius 'pass' the game slowly came to an end. Peter got the last dare which was to sing 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and that's when James realized that the game had gone too far.

Dorcas, Mary and Marlene said their goodbyes to James and Peter, send Sirius an offended gaze and shot Remus a death glare, and headed through the door up to the girl's dormitories.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter rose from their seats from the hard floor and rubbed their sore butts. Then they headed straight to the door leading to the boy's dormitories and walked the four flight of stairs to their dorm.

Thirty minutes later Remus found himself cozily tucked underneath his blankets, slowly drifting off to sleep. He was too tired to give his confusing emotions much thought, and if he wanted to cry about Sirius there was always a day tomorrow.

So Remus closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	5. Day four - part one

**_Day Four - part one_ **

Remus awoke from a dreamless sleep, relieved that he hadn't been bothered by another pleasant but improper dream about Sirius.

He yawned as he stretched out on his bed. He reached out to pull at his curtains and stepped outside into their noticeable cold dorm. He felt an uncomfortable shiver run down his spine and he hurried to the bathroom so he could take a warm shower.

"Morning Moony!"

Remus stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to locate the sound. He found Peter stifling a yawn on his bed.

"Morning Wormtail." Remus smiled at him, but his smile faltered when he saw the two empty beds next to Peter's.

"Where's Padfoot and Prongs?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes but when he gave the bed's another look they were just as empty as before. He turned his gaze back to Peter, frowning.

"I don't know. I just woke up and they were already gone when I drew back my curtains. But you know them; they're probably off to plan an early morning prank or something." Peter didn't look worried from where he stretched out on his bed.

Remus, however, did not like the feeling he got when he spotted the empty beds. Thinking back to it he had thought that James and Sirius both had acted a bit off during the game yesterday.

Although there was nothing he could do about it so he merely shook his head and steered his steps back to their shared bathroom.

After finishing his morning routine, gathering the supplies he would need for today's lessons and waiting for Peter to get ready Remus found himself walking out of their dorm, heading for a much needed breakfast in the Great Hall with Peter.

When they reached the Hall Remus let his gaze wander from the Slytherin table, through the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables and all the way to the Gryffindor table at the opposite side. James and Sirius were nowhere to be seen. Remus narrowed his eyes as he searched the Gryffindor table some more. It was really odd, where were they?

"Relax Moony, they'll probably be here any minute now." Peter shrugged when he sat down at the seat next to Remus'. He sat down on Sirius' seat, Remus realized.

"Why don't you take some bacon and eggs?" Peter reached for the tray of bacon and piled up an enormous pile of it to Remus' plate.

"That'll cheer you up." He smiled at Remus and Remus suddenly felt thankful for having Peter as a friend. He often didn't get much credit, but he was just as an important member of the marauders as any of them.

"Thanks Pete." Remus gave him a small smile as he reached for the eggs to pile up some of it to his plate as well.

Remus and Peter munched on their breakfast while discussing today's lessons. They had gone through Divination, the dread for the upcoming History of Magic lesson and were just about to discuss their last lesson of the day, Transfiguration when a loud laughter echoed in the Hall and interrupted their conversation.

Looking around Remus spotted the laughter coming from the direction of the entrance. Squinting his eyes to try to see what the noise was all about Remus saw something red and gold. He squinted his eyes some more but then he froze at the spot.

In though the entrance walked Rosier, Avery, Crouch and Snape, all walking with their back's hunched and hands covering their faces. Their hairs were transfigured into shine of the brightest red with golden stripes, and Remus thought Snape's hair spelled out 'Go Gryffindor' at the back but it was hard to tell from such a far distance.

Standing up from his seat to get a better view Remus thought he saw huge blisters cover their faces, looking ready to burst just from a puff of air. Rosier seemed to shout nasty words at no one and no one in particular, Avery desperately tried to cover his face with both of his arms, Crouch stumbled on his robes that Remus realized had been transfigured bright yellow, and Snape muttered angry words and snarled at the floor.

Just as they reached their usual spot at the Slytherin table Rosier looked up and he found Remus staring at him. Remus' eyes widened as he watched Rosier smirk at him evilly. Rosier curled his right hand into a fist and then punched his left hand with it. Remus got the message. He was as good as dead to them, but for some reason he couldn't quite name he didn't feel afraid.

He gave Rosier a fake-confused expression before he sat back down again. Remus turned his gaze down at his empty plate when he let his thoughts wander.

This was probably the reason for James and Sirius' absence. They had woken up early to give Remus' bullies a piece of their mind. But that also meant that Sirius must have told James. Even though Remus hadn't specifically told him not to relay the story to anyone else he didn't like the idea of it spreading to others than him and Sirius.

But when Remus glanced up from the table and saw James and Sirius rush laughing into the Great Hall all his worries disappeared. He didn't mind whether Sirius had told James or not. They had stood up for him and actually made him laugh instead of feeling uneasy when he spotted Rosier and his gang.

Sirius patted James on his back while huffing something about 'You're wicked mate!' to which James huffed a 'I might be wicked, but you're mad!'

Their run haltered down to a stop when McGonagall cleared her throat warningly from the Head Table. Sirius and James lifted their hands in surrender and gave her their well-practiced I'm-so-sorry-I'll-never-do-it-again looks before they turned around to slump down on the seats across from Remus and Peter.

"Morning mates!" James chirped as he reached for the almost empty plate of bacon. Sirius had reached for the jug of pumpkin juice.

"Morning," Peter trailed off with a sigh, purposely lowering his voice to gather their attention.

James and Sirius looked up at them.

"Where were you this morning?" Remus crossed his arms and gave them a look over each.

"We went to the loo." Sirius shrugged but Remus didn't miss the wink he gave him. Remus felt his cheeks heat up again when Sirius gave him his award winning crooked smile.

"You know what I meant." Remus flicked his gaze to James instead.

"I don't know what you're talking about? Padfoot here woke up early and told me he needed to go to the loo so I was a good mate about it and kept him company. When he was done we rushed off into the Great Hall to catch up with you guys." James tried desperately to hide a smile but failed when he let out a chuckle. He looked over at Sirius for help, now with his hand pressed against his mouth to suppress the laughter.

"Ehm, yeah, sorry Moony but that's all there is to it." Sirius stated while boring his grey eyes into Remus' amber ones.

"Or, all right, we might have made a quick stop on the way to the Great Hall, but we were only taking care of some garbage I found on the way." Sirius smiled mischievously at Remus and gave him another wink.

Remus felt the butterflies in his stomach churn to life again. He understood that Sirius and James couldn't risk telling them the truth in the middle of the Great Hall, this close to the Head Table. If someone unfitting overheard the conversation Sirius and James were sure to get more than just detention.

But Sirius' words right then had more or less proved that they were the ones that had transformed Rosier and his gang into looking like ugly Gryffindor mascots, and solely for the sake of making Remus laugh.

Remus felt the affection for Sirius swell in his chest when he realized what Sirius and James, but probably mostly Sirius, had done just for him. He felt a heavy gratitude for the boy that sat in front of him and couldn't help the smile that creeped up his lips.

He gave Sirius one of his rare genuine smiles, because no words could express the emotions he felt right then. Sure, he still felt a bit uneasy about the fact that the bullies probably were going to look for him later, but mostly he felt happy and protected. With Sirius he felt safe.

He saw Sirius' face lit up seeming out of nowhere and suddenly Sirius' eyes were on his lips. He felt his breath hitch and a spark of excitement shoot through his body. He couldn't decide if he loved or hated when Sirius did that.

Sirius suddenly reached out a hand that he placed on top of the table, close to Remus' plate. Then he looked Remus in the eyes again and motioned with his head to his hand on the table. It took a couple of seconds before Remus realized that Sirius wanted him to grab his hand.

Remus did as he was told and raised his own hand from where it had been splayed in his lap. When he placed it over Sirius' he turned his around and clasped their hands together.

Remus heart did a somersault in his chest and his stomach almost hurt from the butterflies. He felt Sirius give his hand a light squeeze and Remus glanced up at him.

He saw Sirius look at him with genuine eyes as he leaned in to close the distance between them. For a moment Remus thought he was leaning in to kiss him but just as he felt his heart stop in his chest Sirius stopped to lean on his elbows he placed on the table between them.

"Remus," He whispered, alarmingly close to Remus' face.

"Yes?" Remus whispered back.

"I told you I wasn't going to let them hurt you anymore, do you remember?" He lowered his voice even more, it was barely audible but with Remus' werewolf hearing he could still make out the words.

"Sure."

Remus hadn't really listened to what Sirius had said back then.

"I just want you to know that I am a man of my word. I always keep my promises." He gave Remus a slow wink, leaned back again and let go of Remus' hand that now felt strangely cold.

Remus didn't know what to answer so he simply nodded in response.

He felt his entire face turn scarlet when he met Sirius eyes so he turned his gaze to the side, but immediately regretted his choice when he came face to face with James.

James grinned at him and then wriggled his eyebrows. Remus thought that he was probably only doing that to mock Remus for blushing so deeply, but then he came to other thoughts when he saw James glance over at Sirius and then back to Remus again, now winking.

What was James implying? If not...

Remus slapped his hand over his mouth to suppress the gasp. James had probably actually found out about his crush on Sirius after all, and now he was showing Remus that he knew all about it.

James chuckled when he turned his attention back to his food, mumbling something about 'Daft mutts doesn't even realize...'. Remus felt extremely confused but he was getting used to it after the commotion that were the last couple of days.

James didn't mention his odd exchange with Remus for the rest of the breakfast, and didn't try anything funny either. That's why Remus felt himself begin to relax again. After they received their owl post they gathered their things and headed for their first lesson; Divination.

They chatted with each other through the many flights of stairs up to their classroom that was positioned almost as high as the Astronomy Tower.

When they were inside the four friends all slumped down on a beanbag each. Remus instantly felt dizzy from the many scented teas and perfumes that seemed to steam from the very walls of the rounded classroom as he braced himself for the boring lesson ahead of him.

About four hours and a drowsy lesson of Divination and boring lesson of History of Magic later the four boys made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, and after lunch they had a free hour so they made their way to the Gryffindor common room.

They walked to their usual spots in the comfortable sofas by the fireplace and sat down. Peter had brought his set of exploding snap and placed it on the small coffee table. When Peter asked who wanted to join they all did.

"So are you going to make any cards then?" James suddenly asked to no one in particular.

"What do you mean?" Peter murmured, eyes never leaving the game.

"It's Valentine's day tomorrow," James gave Peter an incredulous look, like he was talking to a child that just wouldn't understand.

"So?" Sirius joined the conversation since he didn't understand what James was going on about.

"On Valentine's day you are supposed to make a card and send it to the one you fancy. How could you have forgotten that, we've seen people do it for three years already?" James frowned at his friends.

Sirius, Peter and Remus all exchanged a look. They understood now, but why would James bring it up?

"Isn't it kind of girly though?" Peter piped.

"And part of muggle culture?" Sirius placed his hands on his hips, delivering one of his pureblood-sneezes.

James flew his hands into the air and made an irritated grunt. "Yes, I'll admit that it might be a bit girly, and yes the fashion is originally taken from muggle's culture but my question was if you were planning on making any cards. So are you?" He lowered his hands to cross them over his chest, giving Sirius, Peter and Remus a look each.

"Are you planning on making one Prongs?" Remus asked, giving James a kind smile as if saying 'I'm not going to tease you about being girly'.

James responded with a mischievous smile. "Was is that obvious? Why, I'm making one for miss Evans of course." He turned around in the spot he sat in the sofa to blow Lily a kiss over his shoulders to which she looked disgusted and mumbled something angrily in response.

"Only one?" Sirius gave James' shoulder a friendly push as he chuckled.

"Sod off." He gave Sirius' shoulder a light punch in return. However, their friendly bickering soon turned into another pillow fight when James reached for anything behind him and grabbed hold of one of the rare pillows in the common room sofa.

Remus and Peter did what they always did in these situations; ignored them and continued with whatever they were doing.

Though, while Remus went along with the game of exploding snap with Peter he let his mind wander back to what James had said right there. The words 'make a card and send it to the one you fancy' seemed to echo in his head and he started to wonder. What if he would make a card? For Sirius...

He had to admit that it was rather 'girly', but he couldn't just give up this unique opportunity to give Sirius a hint about his feeling now, could he?

Perhaps he could try and make the card look cool, use some darker colors and write with his sharpest quill. But wait, what if Sirius recognized his handwriting?

Remus let his mind wander some more until he remembered a spell that would change his handwriting up a bit. With that problem out of hind mind he was left thinking about possible things he could write. He didn't want to simply write 'Eh, hi Sirius, it's Remus and you probably didn't know this but I'm crazy about you, so, yeah, bye'. He would need to be classy and discreet about it. Perhaps write an anecdote or a poem, something that would leave him interested but not enough to scare him away.

"Moony, hello, are you there?"

Peter waved one of his hands in front of Remus' face. Remus snapped back to reality.

"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I?" He pressed out a rather loud fake-laughter.

"I don't know, it looked like you were lost in thoughts or something." Peter shrugged but Remus didn't miss the concerned look he gave him.

"Oh, it's nothing. Sorry I spaced out Wormtail." He gave him what he thought was a reassuring smile. He hadn't realized that he had spaced of like that. He would really need to stop doing that unless he wanted anyone to be suspicious.

Glancing up from the game Remus saw that James and Sirius had finally let go of each other, clothes and hairs all wrinkly and messed up. Remus sighed. Sometimes he felt like the only one even remotely mature in a group consisting of mostly five years olds.

~

"Now, where do I begin..." Remus mumbled to himself in the quiet of their dorm. He sat with a piece of parchment in front of him, quill held in a firm grip as he sighed.

After the Transfigurations lesson with their head of house Professor McGonagall Remus had made up some excuse to head back to their dorm while his friends walked outside to hang down by the lake. Remus would've joined them on another day, but now he had something else in mind.

He had sneaked up to their dorm and shut the door closed behind him. After he'd dug out a piece of his finest parchment and his newest quill and ink he sat down on his bed. After clearing his nightstand from his other belongings he had carefully placed the parchment on it.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Soon the others would notice his absence and walk back to look for him. He only had a couple of minutes to think of something to scribble down on his Valentines card for Sirius.

He heard a floorboard squeak outside the door and felt his entire body tense up. Were they back already?

But then he heard another floorboard squeak further away from their door. They weren't back after all.

Remus sighed and wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he let his mind wander. He tried to think of the many reasons he had fallen for Sirius when an idea popped up in his head. He suddenly remembered the many times that Sirius had mentioned that how odd it was that Sirius' name came from a star and Remus' name, and condition, aimed at the moon.

Remus felt a spark of excitement through his body as he scribbled down 'star + moon' on a side note. The idea was simply brilliant! He could play on the fact that him and Sirius fit together like the starts and the moon. Perhaps it was a bit cheesy but Remus didn't mind. He finally had something to work on.

Not sure where to begin Remus started doodling a crescent moon in the upper right corner of the parchment. After than he subconsciously started doodling the star constellation of Canis Major underneath it. He made the dot that was 'Sirius - the dog star' much bigger than the others.

When he was happy with his drawing he smiled satisfied to himself, but then he remembered that he still hadn't even started on the text he was supposed write. Since he wasn't very good at suave texts, pick-up-lines or anything funny-and-suggestive in general Remus decided that he would try to write some sort of poem. A poem which would show Sirius some of the many reasons he had fallen for him.

He tried to dig into his very soul when he searched for the reasons he loved Sirius. It was difficult to point out anything particular since he liked almost everything about him. But then Remus remembered the many times Sirius somehow had known he was crying and climbed up his bed to comfort him. He had helped him fall asleep more times than he could remembered.

Remus scribbled down 'nightmares + hug' on his side note.

After another couple of seconds he remembered the moment they shared the day prior, when Sirius had hugged him and eased all his worries away while he told him it's was going to be all right.

Remus felt his heart ache from the extent of the love he felt for Sirius right then. He scribbled down 'no worries + protect' on his note.

Then he thought about the very unique color of grey that were Sirius' eyes. They expressed so much emotion that Remus often had to look away, not being able to keep their gaze when he felt his knees give out under him. He scribbled down 'beautiful eyes' on his note and sighed. This would be enough.

However, his mind was still running like crazy, remembering thing after thing he adored about Sirius. There was simply too much to like about him. Remus loved the fact that he wasn't afraid to take a fight as he stood up for what he believed in. Sirius' was also incredibly kind and funny when you take his abusive childhood into perspective. He was the very definition of a strong, brave Gryffindor and Remus fell in love again and again only from thinking about him.

And of course, perhaps the most prominent trait of them all; Sirius was devilishly handsome.

He picked up his side note to squint at it. Perhaps it would be fancy if it rhymed as well? Remus frowned down at his notes some more. Then he started writing random words, trying to put the words together and gathered sentences. When he had written down about fifteen sentences he crossed over the ones he disliked and kept the ones that sounded better.

When he was happy with how it both looked and sounded he moved his hand to the fine parchment and carefully wrote down the sentences, taking his time to make sure every arch and capital letter looked perfect. He tilted his hand to the side and wrote in cursives;

_To the brightest star in the sky  
You make me want to try_

_To the most handsome boy in Gryffindor  
You make all my worries fall to the floor_

_To the one that's not afraid to take a fight  
You chase away my 'mares at night_

_To the one with the brilliant silver eyes  
You're gaze shine brighter than the night skies_

_To the one that stole my heart and tucked it away  
You will always hear me say_

_I love you_

_-R_

Remus carefully laid down his quill on the nightstand and lifted his parchment to take a closer look on it.

It wasn't the best poem he'd ever read but it would have to do. He had already been gone for far too long and the others might burst through the door in any second.

He was happy with how he had managed to get his most important points across. He had mentioned the connection with the stars but left out anything that had to do with the moon, not wanting it to be too easy for Sirius to lead the card to him.

He had included the fact that Sirius chase away his nightmares, worries and mentioned his marvelous eyes. He had included the bit where he told him he loved him just because he wanted to watch Sirius' facial expression when he read it. He wanted to know if Sirius would just throw away the card like he had done with his earlier Valentine cars the years prior, or if he was going to wonder who it was from.

Secretly the irrational part of Remus hoped that he would be able to lead it to him. Remus knew that Sirius wasn't stupid, in fact he and James are probably the most clever students of their year, but it would take more than just a good guess to find out who 'R' is. There were many students at Hogwarts with both sur- and last names that begin with an R.

Remus lowered the parchment back down to lay on his nightstand. He picked out his wand from its pocket in his robe and then charmed his handwriting on the parchment. He made his handwriting look a bit more tilted to the side and charmed the 'a's to look different from his own. It wasn't much but now Sirius' wouldn't be able to recognize the handwriting with just one glance.

He spelled out a weak 'Incendio' that cut the parchment into two, making the card smaller which made it able to be tucked inside an envelope.

As a finishing touch he transfigured the card into a deep blue color, to resemblance the color of the night sky. Then he transfigured the text from a dull black into glowing in a beautiful shade of silvery-gray, very similar to the color of Sirius' eyes.

Remus smiled down at his work feeling quite proud of himself.

After rummaging through his trunk for an envelope Remus tucked the card away into it. He charmed the envelope into a deep blue as well and with a swift flick with his wand he had written 'Sirius Orion Black' on it with silver letters. The letters were a bit crooked since he wrote it with his wand but it was only good. It served as another disguise and would make Sirius even more confused.

Remus rose up from his bed, tucked the envelope in his school bag and sneaked out of the dorm. He would make his way to the owlery where he would bribe an owl into hiding his card during the night and not send it until morning. He had charmed the envelope to stand against rain, snow and cold so hopefully it would survive the night.

He took a shortcut around the Hospital Wing before he found a hidden door that he flung open.

The door let him out close to the west wing where the stairs to the owlery was positioned. Remus made his way to the long, icy stairs and proceeded the walk to his destination.

When he finally reached the top of the stairs he opened the door and walked inside.

When he successfully had found a suitable barn owl, bribed it, tied the letter to its leg and walked back out he slammed the door shut behind him and started running.

Remus ran down the ice-clad stairs. He slipped a few times but didn't turn his pace down. He had already been gone for far too long and it wouldn't surprise him if his friends already had walked back to search for him.

Remus opened the secret door and started running through the long corridors of Hogwarts castle. He hid from teachers, and picked another corridor when he spotted Peeves in the one he had planned to take.

When he finally reached the Entrance Hall he slowed down to a walk, heavily panting. As he made his way over to the main doors he flattened out his robes and hair. He spotted a stain of ink on his right hand that he tried to wipe away, but failed. Remus sighed. He knew that his friends were clever but fervently trying to wipe away an ink stain to hide the evidence of his act right then might be to be taking it a bit far.

He walked on the small path leading from the castle to the lake. The air was cold against his bare hands so he tucked them in his armpits meanwhile. There was fresh snow on the ground, apparently it had been snowing earlier, it would explain why the stairs to the owelry had been so slippery.

He guessed that he had been gone for about thirty minutes. He bit his lip in worry when he realized that he might have to change that number to fifty instead. It was already getting dark outside.

Remus glanced over at the Whomping Willow but quickly turned away his gaze when too many unfriendly memories came rushing back to him.

He ran the last bit of the path, not stopping until he reached the lake.

"Moony!" He heard Sirius bellow as he rose up from where he had been crouching on the ground. He came walking to Remus with his arms reached out, like he wanted to hug.

"Padfoot..!" Remus shouted, mentally slapping himself when he realized how lame he sounded. He tried to scorn his facial expression to look as normal as possible when Sirius reached him.

"Moony!" He cried again, this time giving Remus a relieved expression.

"Where have you been?" He asked as he lowered his arms to hang by his sides. He looked a mixture between worried and relieved.

"What do you mean? I've been here the entire time." Remus lied, desperately trying to think of a suitable excuse.

"No you weren't." Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"Eh, yes I was." Remus voice squeaked at the end. Merlin, he would need to think of another excuse quickly. It was only awkward for him to lie like this, what did he think he was doing? No one could fool Sirius.

"No?" Sirius crossed his arms but then swiftly uncrossed then as he reached one of his hands out to grab Remus' right one.

Remus felt his cheeks heat up at the contact. Suddenly the weather didn't seem as cool and his frozen fingers quickly became warm. He gulped when he felt Sirius swipe his thumb over his palm.

"What's this?" Sirius leaned in to take a closer look at their hands.

"What?" Remus was forcefully snapped back to reality. He squinted his eyes to make out what Sirius was referring to and that's when he saw it.

"The ink stain. It wasn't there before you left." Sirius took one last look at the stain before he let Remus' hand go. He looked up to look Remus in the eyes, giving him a questioning look.

"Wha-, why would you say that? H-how would you know?" Remus spluttered, his brain collapsing. He absolutely did not want _Sirius_ to figure out about the secret love letter he had sent him.

"I just know." Sirius shrugged, then he gave Remus one his crooked smiles and Remus felt his knees weaken. He glanced around to find something to lean against but only spotted the beech tree that James and Peter sat by.

"Hey Moony!" They sang in tandem as they waved their hands at him.

"So are you going to tell me what you were doing for the last hour or not?" Sirius gave him a look over as he wriggled his eyebrows. Remus felt his heart do a somersault and then start pounding like mad in his chest. What did Sirius think he was doing, wriggling his perfectly arched eyebrows at him like that?

"I-I, ehm, I walked back to leave my bag in our dorm. Then I fell asleep, woke up and ran down here to catch up with you guys." Remus gave Sirius what he thought was an apologetic look. Sirius however, did not look like he was buying it.

"You're sure you didn't fall asleep before you left your bag? You're wearing it right now." Sirius pointed at Remus' chest.

Remus snapped his hands to his chest. Across it he could still feel the strap from his bag. He felt his entire face heat up and he closed his eyes in embarrassment. He should have thought of an excuse before he returned to his friends.

"Relax Moony, I'm not going to ask you what you were doing if you don't want to answer. But next time you should tell us that you're going to be away for a while beforehand. I was starting to get really worried." Sirius patted Remus' back. "Okay?" Sirius smiled at him reassuringly. The lump of emotional affection Remus felt for Sirius had returned in his throat. Not trusting his voice to speak he simply nodded his head in response.

Chuckling Sirius flung an arm over Remus' shoulders and then walked them over to the beech tree where James and Peter sat. Remus still wanted to punch himself for the weak excuse he'd tried to fool Sirius with, but another feeling was starting to take over. He felt heat from Sirius' arm and body warm him up from the inside and suddenly he was giddy with happiness. He felt safe with Sirius' arm around him, like he was a shield that protected him from the rest of the world. Almost unnoticeable he leaned a bit closer to Sirius to try and get a whiff of his wonderful scent.

After successfully stealing a breath of Sirius' unique scent Remus joined in on his friends' conversation that was about the prank they were going to pull off later.


	6. Day four - part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter, I sure liked writing it!   
> And Happy Halloween :D

**_Day Four - Part two_ **

"Ow, you stepped on my foot!"

"Shh, keep your voice down!"

"Yuck! Don't breathe down my neck!"

"Stop pushing me!"

"Shh, if you don't shut it Filch is going to hear us!"

Remus pressed the Marauder's Map closer to his chest when Peter stumbled back on him. He spluttered when he got strands of Peter's hair in his mouth.

The four of them were all squeezed in under James' invincibility cloak that seemed too small for all of them back in second year already.

Remus moved his lit wand to waver over his head as he tried to read the Map. They were heading for the Great Hall where they would execute the prank and Remus was the navigator, Sirius made sure that the cloak covered them all, James remembered the spells they needed and Peter was in the way.

"Watch out, Filch's around the next corner." Remus whispered and then James steered them into another corridor. They were almost at the Entrance Hall, but the long way from their dorm pressed tightly to each other had tested Remus' nerves significantly.

After dinner James had left for Quidditch practice, Peter tagged along to watch and Remus had went to the library to study with Lily. Sirius was off somewhere, or with someone, Remus didn't ask, too afraid to feel his heart break in case he was to tell him he'd meet up with a girl or something.

A couple of hours later they had all headed back to their dorm in which they awaited curfew. When curfew had arrived James dug the invincibility cloak out from his trunk and covered himself with it. After much bickering the four of them had left for the Great Hall where they were going to execute their prank.

They were going to enchant the great house banners pink, with a text that said 'Slytherin sucks'. It wasn't the best prank they'd done but it was rather last minute and would have to do. The prank was mostly James and Sirius' idea but somehow Remus and Peter had been talked into joining as well. Remus guessed it had something to do with their Marauder code - one for all and all for one. In other words; all members of the marauders stuck together and helped each other out even with the most ridiculous of pranks.

"Ow, you stepped on my foot again Padfoot." Peter piped as he jumped on one leg, rubbing his stomped foot with his hands.

"Sorry." Sirius mumbled nonchalantly, not sounding sorry at all.

"Tch, what have I said about you breathing down my neck? Move!" James hissed as he gave Sirius a rather forceful push that almost had him tumbling out of the cloak.

"Shh, can't you ever be quiet?" Remus hissed, trying to scold them. He rolled his eyes when his scolding erupted barely contained laughter from all of them.

"Never mind, you obviously can't." He rolled his eyes.

They stopped around the corner to the Great Hall.

"The path is clear." Remus whispered before they walked, or more like stumbled and pushed each other, the last steps to the doors leading to the Great Hall. James mumbled an 'Alohomora' and then swung the doors open with a loud bang.

They all jerked and Remus gasped.

"Very subtle Prongs, do you want us to get caught?" Sirius hissed at James, giving him a sharp jab in the shoulder.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" He hissed back while giving Sirius a push.

"Can't we just go inside now? I'm hungry and I still need to finish that Defence Against the Dark Arts essay." Peter complained in front of Remus while sagging his shoulders, face erupting in a pout.

"Oh right, I need to finish that as well. Or well, I haven't even started working on it to be honest." James whispered, having turned to his side to talk to Peter face to face.

"Are you done talking now?" Remus interrupted, getting more and more irritated by the way this mission dragged out on time.

After murmured 'yes' and 'sure' the four of them finally steered on their steps and walked into the empty Great Hall. The house tables were empty of the usually steady chatter from students or clatter from cutlery.

They walked all the way to Professor Dumbledore's podium before Remus checked the Map one last time, mumbled a 'Mischief Managed' and then tucked it away in his trouser pocket. He felt the invincibility cloak swipe over his head before James had pulled it off all of them and tucked it away in his bag.

"Okay so here's the plan." James had gathered them in a small half-circle in front of him.

"We transfigure one house banner each, take a quick look over so that nothing's spelled wrong or something, and then we head back as soon as possible. Any questions?" He mischievously glanced at Remus, then Sirius and lastly at Peter. When none of them asked something they went on with the mission.

"Padfoot you take the Slytherin banner." James pointed at the banner to the far right from them. Sirius got a mad glint in his eyes as he walked off to the Slytherin side of the Hall.

"Moony you take Hufflepuff." James pointed at the banner hanging next to the Slytherin one. Remus nodded before he stalked off. During his walk to the Hufflepuff banner he heard James tell Peter 'You take Ravenclaw and I take Gryffindor.' Remus huffed at the thought that James had saved the Gryffindor banner for himself.

When Remus reached the banner he positioned himself in front of it, lifted his wand to the direction of the banner and then voiced the spells they had practiced earlier. He watched as the badger disappeared in favor of the black words that spelled out 'Slytherin sucks', and then watched the yellow and black colors turn into a bright pink that made Remus' eyes hurt from just looking at it.

When he was done he stepped back a few steps to admire his work. Next to him he saw Sirius doing the same thing.

"I can't wait to see the look on Snivellus face tomorrow, it'll be brilliant!" Sirius chirped.

"As long as we don't get caught." Remus frowned at Sirius. It was far too early in the process of the prank to feel successful. They still had to make it the long way back to the safety of their dorm until Remus could laugh about it.

Turning his head to the right he saw Peter and James doing the last touch ups on their banners before they walked towards Remus and Sirius. Remus was just going to tell them to head back when James walked past him in the direction of the Slytherin table. Remus turned around and looked a mixture of irritated and confused when he spoke.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just going to leave a little surprise for Snivellus. It'll go really quick." He gave Remus a reassuring smile. "Wormy, get over here and help me would you?"

Remus watched as Peter ran up to James. They had both reached the Slytherin table when Remus felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright Moony?" Sirius placed himself in front of Remus so that he was forced to face him eye to eye.

"No I'm not. It's late and I'm tired. Why can't we just go back already?" He almost whined. He gave Sirius a pleading look that soon made him look desperate.

"They'll probably be done any second now. Don't worry Rem, you'll soon be tucked away in your warm bed again." Sirius gave him a kind reassuring smile that worked wonders with Remus' body. He felt his heart clench painfully and his insides churn with anticipation. Suddenly he was full of energy, the tiredness long forgotten.

"Okay." He mumbled as his eyes locked on Sirius' lips for a second. Feeling his cheeks heat up he quickly returned his gaze to look Sirius in the eyes, but when he did he felt his breath hitch.

Sirius gave him a deep look that hinted something else just out of reach. Remus looked longingly into those eyes and felt his heart rate speed up when Sirius' lips formed into a smirk and he gave Remus a slow wink. He felt his entire body heat up and a spark of excitement shoot right to his lower areas.

Suddenly the world around them seemed to have disappeared as Remus felt himself get lost in Sirius' eyes. Sirius moved his hand from Remus' shoulder in favor of swiping it up and down his back. Remus felt a comfortable shiver run down his spine and wondered if Sirius felt it to. His body felt too hot all over and soon he was panting, but Sirius never ceased his gaze so Remus continued to look into those wonderful, stormy grey eyes.

He saw a glimpse of something new in Sirius' eyes as they stared deeply into each other's eyes and Remus thought it felt like they were just on the breach of something. Something new, vast and wonderful, but then Remus heard an evil sneer and the magical moment was gone.

"Well, well, what have we here? If it isn't Lupin and Black."

Remus and Sirius both froze at the spot when they recognized the voice. They shared a look of pure panic before they let go of each other and turned around to come face to face with Mr. Filch.

Remus mentally scolded himself for forgetting about the Map. He had left it in his pocket and then got distracted by Sirius. And by the way Sirius had swept him of his feet it was no wonder that Filch had managed to walk up to them without being seen.

"So? Out with it! What are you doing up after curfew?" He spat, evil glint visible in his eyes and vicious grin on his lips. Remus didn't think he'd ever seen Filch look so happy before.

"Sleep walking."

"The loo."

Remus and Sirius blurted out at the same time. They turned their heads to share a look of utter panic before they both turned their attention back to Filch.

"What?" Filch spat.

"What he said." They blurted out at the same time again. Remus closed his eyes in frustration as he heard Sirius barely contain his laughter. Could the situation get any worse?

"I don't believe that." Filch narrowed his eyes at them. "You're coming with me now." He forcefully lifted his hand and swung it in the air, motioning for Remus and Sirius to follow him.

"Just wait 'til Dumbledore hears about this..." Filch muttered to himself as he made his way through the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.

Remus and Sirius had no choice but to follow him. When Remus looked at Sirius that walked next to him he saw Sirius give him an apologetic look while shrugging. Remus thought it served him right to get caught since he had celebrated the win beforehand but Remus didn't get why he had to get punished as well. After all he had been the one that wanted them to leave early.

Suddenly Remus remembered that James and Peter had been part of the prank as well. He turned his head from one side to another as he searched the Great Hall for any trace of them, but he couldn't spot them anywhere. Where the hell were they?

"Sorry."

Remus jerked when he heard someone whisper next to his ear. While bringing his hands up to rub at the spot he glanced over his shoulder but didn't see anyone there. Frowning he turned his attention forward again.

"See you later mates!"

Remus quickly snapped his head to the side when he heard the voice again. But then he realized who it was. It was James, underneath his invincibility cloak.

Remus brought up his hand to rub at his forehead. Of course it was James. He had probably heard Filch arriving and urgently thrown the cloak over himself and Peter. They had been invincible when Filch arrived.

Remus yet again wanted to punch himself for allowing himself to lose attention. Sirius was too much of a distraction for him, and now he would probably end up with detention as a result of his crush on him. He sighed. Damn his teenage hormones.

Filch, Remus, Sirius and now Mrs. Norris walked through the entrance hall when they heard loud footsteps approaching. Filch was constantly mumbling about different punishments but stopped talking when he spotted the one walking toward them.

"Argus, my friend!" Professor Slughorn bellowed at them on his way from the Slytherin dungeons.

"Horace." Filch gave him a curt nod but did not look even remotely as joyful as Slughorn.

"Oh, what have we here? If it isn't for young mister Lupin and young mister Black?" He chuckled as he patted himself on his stomach.

"I caught these troublemakers bare handed in the Great Hall." Filch spat. "They have vandalized the house banners and now I'm going to punish them accordingly." Filch narrowed his eyes at Slughorn, looking like he was getting ready for a fight.

"Oh, they did? Please tell me Mr. Black, what did you do to the banners?" Slughorn had turned his attention to Sirius, probably because of his pureblood status and many famous family members that interested Slughorn immensely.

"We transfigured them bright pink, with the text 'Slytherin sucks' sir." He told Slughorn as a matter of fact, keeping a serious expression on his face.

Filch looked positively furious from where he mumbled punishments, stomping on the floor looking ready to lash out at any moment.

"Oh ho ho, how amusing!" Slughorn chuckled and then walked closer to give Sirius an approving pat on his shoulder. "Did you come up with that idea yourself?"

"Yes, professor." Sirius lied while giving Slughorn his best pureblood look of arrogance.

Both Remus and Sirius knew that it had been mostly James idea but since James and Peter had fled the scene Sirius took the blame for the prank.

"If you're done talking we need to get going now Horace." Filch growled. "I have punishments to deliver." The evil glint in his eyes was back.

"Oh! But say me Argus, why won't you let me take care of Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black for tonight?" He bellowed, smiling through his moustache.

"Wha-, no I don't think so." Filch looked almost insulted at the request.

"But I just left my office to look for someone that could help me clean my supply of cauldrons. If these young men need a punishment they could help me clean the cauldrons, as their detention. I have plenty of them so you don't have to worry, they won't get any chance to slack off." Slughorn looked at Filch expectantly. Filch murmured something in return.

"Why don't you let me take care of Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black, so you can continue your stroll around the castle?" Slughorn nodded at Filch.

After some more arguing Remus and Sirius soon found themselves trailing after Professor Slughorn towards the direction of the Slytherin dungeons. Remus didn't miss the pat on the back he got from an invincible hand, along with the whispered line of 'Sorry Moony,' before he heard a ' Sorry Padfoot' a bit further back. The message was clear; James and Peter had followed them on their walk with Filch but now they would leave. Remus didn't blame them though, if he had to choose between chilling in the common room or follow my friends into the Slytherin dungeons for detention clammed underneath an invincibility cloak the choice was easy. He would leave sooner than you could say 'Quidditch'.

When they reached the Potions' classroom Professor Slughorn walked to the front desk where he sat down. He then motioned for Remus and Sirius to stand in front of him.

"Now my boy," He started, looking at Sirius.

"For your detention you are going to help me clean my class set of cauldrons, without magic." He chuckled, his moustache fluttering in the process.

"You'll find the cleaning supplies in the cabinet over there," He motioned for a smaller cupboard in the upper right corner that Remus hadn't seen before.

"And you won't leave until all cauldrons look like new. Mr. Black, why don't you take the cauldrons on this side of the classroom?" He smiled at Sirius while motioning for the cauldrons on the right side of the classroom. Sirius nodded in response.

"Then you'll take care of the cauldrons on this side of the classroom Mr. Lupin." Slughorn said, finally turning his attention to Remus that nodded reluctantly. He really despised cleaning, especially if done by hand.

"Alright, go on, get to work!" Slughorn clapped his hands together and chuckled again. He opened a drawer to pull out a bunch of essays he was going to read through as Remus and Sirius walked towards the supply cabinet.

Remus grabbed a towel and some sort of soap that looked hazard.

"Ehm, excuse me sir?" He asked Slughorn.

"Yes?" He squinted in Remus' direction.

"Aren't we supposed to like, ehm, wear some kind of gloves or something? I mean, are these products really safe for using with bare hands? Eh, sir?" Remus pleaded. He already got his fair share of Hospital visits every month so he did not fancy the idea of getting blisters or anything worse on his hands.

"Oh ho, no no, it'll be alright." Slughorn bellowed although he didn't look like he believed what he was saying.

"Usually it's the house elves that do it, but it will probably be alright." He nodded, but then stopped chuckling when he saw the worried look on Remus' face.

"Go on then!" Slughorn suddenly exclaimed, looking bothered by the fuss Remus was causing.

Reluctantly Remus walked to the left side of the classroom and glanced down his first cauldron. It was filled with the remains of a foul smelling potion that was green with black dots. It reminded him a lot about vomit, and suddenly he realized that perhaps it was just that.

Remus held his breath as he started scrubbing the cauldron clean, mentally complaining about how the suspicious-looking soap itched on his skin. Glancing up he saw Slughorn engaged with reading essays, and glancing to the right he saw Sirius elbow deep in a cauldron. Sirius looked up from it just as Remus swiped his eyes over Sirius'. Their eyes met and Sirius smiled his crooked smile as he winked at Remus.

Remus felt his cheeks heat up at that, but soon he was struggling to hide a smile when he saw Sirius mouth the words 'Old geezer's probably going to fall asleep'. He tilted his head to the side and then lifted his hands to lie underneath his chin, to look like someone who's sleeping.

A soft chuckle slipped past Remus' lips and he slapped his hands over his mouth and snapped his head to the side to look at Slughorn, but apparently he hadn't heard or seen their act just then. Remus lowered his hands back to the cauldron but swore underneath his breath when he realized he had got soap on his lips that itched really badly.

The classroom was silent after that, both boys working on their set of cauldrons. Due to Remus' werewolf strength however he had finished with half of his when Sirius had only managed about one quarter.

When Slughorn had worked through his first set of essays he mumbled something under his breath and the rose up to find something in his office. Remus immediately ceased the opportunity and switched a couple of his clean cauldrons with Sirius' dirty ones.

"What are you doing?" Sirius whispered, looking a mixture between confused and thankful.

"Helping you out." Remus smiled at him reassuringly.

"Yeah I can see that, but why?" Sirius looked amused from where he was working on a particularly dirty cauldron.

"The sooner we finish cleaning all these bloody cauldrons the faster we can leave." Remus huffed, scrubbing at a mad pace. "And, if you have to know, my 'condition' do have some perks. I can clean twice as many cauldrons than you in the same amount of time. So don't ask, just hand me some more of your cauldrons, would you?" He smiled at Sirius that immediately switched a couple more of their cauldrons.

"I'll make it up to you later." Sirius gave Remus a reassuring look but Remus didn't really mind the double work burden. Sirius had already done so much for him through the years, and if he was being honest he didn't mine being trapped in a classroom with only Sirius and him. Though it could have done without the cauldrons and Professor Slughorn as a spectator, but you couldn't have it all.

Slughorn returned from his office with another pile of essays that he sat down to look over. The classroom was silent apart from the scrubbing and huffs and puffs coming from Remus and Sirius.

Remus had lost track of time from where he was cleaning cauldron after cauldron, the tables of them seeming to go on forever. When he reached the last bench he was sure that the time must be close to midnight. There were no windows in the classroom but he felt like they'd been trapped down there for hours.

When he started working on his final cauldron Slughorn rose up from his chair to get something from his office again. Remus ceased the opportunity, letting go of his wet towel to stretch his stiff limbs. He heard his back crack and let out a satisfied sigh. Only one more cauldron to go.

But then he remembered that Sirius had to finish with his set as well. Remus turned his head to the side to look over at Sirius when he spotted him walking towards him, arms reached out looking mischievous.

Remus was just going to ask him what he was doing when he saw the wet towel in Sirius' hand. Sirius rushed towards him with the wet towel in hand, laughing when Remus started walking backwards, trying to avoid Sirius.

"What are you doing?" Remus hissed, not wanting Slughorn to come rushing out of his office.

"You had some dirt on your nose so thought I should help you rub it off!" Sirius laughed, now running after Remus between the tables in the Potion's classroom. Sirius grinned from where he chased Remus around the classroom, wet cloth held out in front of him.

"Sod off Padfoot!" Remus hissed in what was supposed to be a whisper but ended up almost as loud as a shout. He ducked underneath a table but squeaked when Sirius was after him in an instant, grinning and laughing.

Remus gave Sirius' shoulder a forceful push that had him falling to the floor on his back. Remus quickly jumped up from underneath the table and rushed off towards Slughorn's' desk. Remus felt excitement rush through his body and he couldn't hide his own laughter anymore. He threw an arm over his stomach as he chuckled into his palm.

He vaguely noticed Sirius catching up to him. He jerked when he felt Sirius position himself behind him, draping an arm over his chest and pulling him in. Remus meant to scream but ended up laughing instead when he saw Sirius lift the wet towel closer to his face.

"S-stop, S-Sirius," Remus managed in between chuckles. He suspected that the uncontrollable laughter was a result of his exhaustion and pent up excitement from spending so many hours in close proximity to Sirius.

To his surprise he saw Sirius lower his hand and then watched it as he threw the towel over their heads to land on the floor behind them. Remus felt another mad fit of laughter hit him when Sirius lowered his now towel-free hand to tickle Remus' stomach.

Tears of laughter ran down Remus' cheeks and he could hear Sirius laugh against him as well. Remus tried to free himself from Sirius' grip but was firmly held into place by Sirius' strong grip.

After a few more seconds Remus was a babbling mess of laughter. He gripped Sirius' tickling hand with both of his own, but even though he knew that he could probably pry Sirius' hand away due to his strength he didn't. He felt a bit guilty about it but he actually quite enjoyed having Sirius pressed up tightly against his back. Although, he would had preferred it even more if it weren't for the tickling.

Remus gave a long relieved sigh when he felt Sirius ease his grip on him. He had just taken his first step to walk away from Slughorn's desk area when he felt Sirius grip his shoulders and quickly turn him around. Remus stumbled around and then got stuck with his foot in his robe and slipped.

Remus squeaked as he fell. He heard a loud huff when he landed on something solid. Opening his eyes he realized that he had landed on top of Sirius.

"You alright there Moony?" Sirius smiled at him as he lifted his hand to brush a strand from Remus' eyes.

Remus felt his cheeks heat up and his brain melted. He searched his brain for anything to say, but it failed him and he ended up stuttering a choked 'Ye-eah'. He coughed a couple of times to try and cover up his awkward stuttering. But Sirius only smiled at him.

Remus tried to produce a smile of his own but his actions was stopped when he realized what position they were in. Remus straddled Sirius' hips on the floor and Sirius still had a hand entangled in his hair.

Sirius let go of his hair and started wriggle around on the ground, probably trying to find a way to rise up from the ground. Remus made to move as well but then he felt something that made him froze at the spot. Sirius lifted one of his legs so that his knee suddenly lay pressed against Remus' crotch.

Remus felt his breath hitch when a spark of arousal shot straight to the area where Sirius' knee was pressed. Involuntary he fell forward, forehead landing in the juncture between Sirius' neck and shoulder, hands pressed in between their chests.

Remus felt his entire body catch fire when Sirius moved his knee between Remus' legs. All Remus' nerve endings were tingling and his stomach churned with anticipation. He started panting into Sirius' robe and before he could realize what he was doing he had spread his legs wider to be able to press down further into Sirius' knee.

But then he heard a loud 'Bang!' and he was forcefully snapped back to reality.

Faster than he'd ever done anything in his life Remus quickly climbed off Sirius and rose to his feet, straightening out his robes and posture in the process. He turned his head slightly to the side to give Sirius a quick glance, but ended up staring wide eyed when he saw Sirius lying on the floor next to him.

Sirius' cheeks were tinted pink, he was slightly panting and - Remus squinted his eyes to get a better look in between Sirius' legs - it almost looked like his trousers were bulging a bit, but Remus wasn't sure. It was probably just his imagination playing a trick on him.

Looking around them Remus saw a thick book lying on the floor close to his feet. Perhaps one of them had accidentally pushed it out of Slughorn's desk drawers or something. He crouched down to pick the book up and then placed it on top of the desk. Then he reached out his hand to help Sirius rise to his feet.

"Thanks." Sirius mumbled with a slight chuckle. Remus found it difficult to meet his eyes so he stared at a crack in the stone floor.

"No problem." He mumbled as he reached out a hand to flatten his hair.

"Sorry for making you trip." He heard Sirius tell him in a low, honest voice. He nodded but kept his stare-competition with the crack.

He felt a pat on his back but just when he was finally going to look Sirius in the eyes he heard approaching footsteps coming from the office.

"Hurry!" Remus hissed as he quickly made his way back to his last dirty cauldron. He saw Sirius pick up his towel from the floor before he walked over to his last set of cauldrons.

When Slughorn entered the classroom with another set of essays and sat down in his chair Remus tried to scold his facial expression to look as normal as possible. He took his time cleaning his last cauldron, not wanting to finish before Sirius. He was certain that Slughorn immediately would give him something else to do in the meantime, which Remus didn't like to think of since he wanted to stay in the same room as Sirius.

Remus glanced over at Sirius but quickly turned his gaze back when he saw that Sirius was staring at him. After sternly scolding his heart to calm down he dared a glance back at Sirius.

He was met by the wonderful sight of Sirius' confident smirk. Remus could not stop staring, but then he saw Sirius wriggle his eyebrows at him playfully and he thought a loud 'idiot' as he shook his head.

"Excuse me?"

Remus snapped his head up and saw Slughorn give him a suspicious look. Sweet Merlin, had he said that out loud?

"Eh, nothing sir. I said nothing." Remus mumbled as he returned his gaze to the cauldron, cleaning the very last piece of potion from it.

"Oh, look at the time!" Slughorn bellowed out of nowhere. "It's already past midnight." He chuckled when he rose up from his chair. He walked along the right side of the classroom and looked down into Sirius' clean cauldrons.

"And by the look of it you've done a great job. I would say that your detention is over now. So go on and hurry off to bed before I change my mind." He gave Sirius a hard pat on his shoulder before he walked back to his desk.

"Good night Professor." Remus gave Slughorn a curt nod before he rushed out of the classroom. He could forget about getting his well-needed seven hours of sleep now.

He didn't wait for Sirius as he walked into the Entrance Hall and began his walk up the many flight of stairs towards the Portrait hole. But when he reached the second landing he heard Sirius catch up with him.

"Slow down a bit, would you?" Sirius chuckled as he threw an arm over Remus' shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I seem a bit agitated but thanks to you and James I just had to spend close to three hours scrubbing the skin of my hands." He tried to sound angry but it was difficult when Sirius' arm warmed him up from where it lay on his shoulders.

"Well at least we only had to clean cauldrons. It could have been worse. It could have been detention with Filch." Sirius winked which turned Remus' frown into a shy smile.

"Okay, maybe you're right. But I'm still angry with you." He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. If he was being honest with himself he actually didn't mind the detention so much, or the fact that Sirius hand his arm wrapped over his shoulders.

The butterflies in his stomach fluttered with their wings when Remus felt Sirius' hip bump into his on their way up the stairs. When he thought back at the moment they shared by Slughorn's desk Remus felt his cheeks heat up again.

Had Sirius noticed how turned on Remus had been just then? And had he heard his breath hitch from arousal when Sirius moved his knee?

Remus was probably a fool for hoping that Sirius hadn't noticed anything, but it was just too embarrassing to comprehend. He desperately hoped that Sirius wouldn't bring it up. Then he would probably die from embarrassment.

Thinking back he wondered why Sirius had looked the way he did lying next to him on the floor. Perhaps he had felt the change in the air and then felt awkward when he realized how Remus' body reacted to him?

Remus shook his head. There were simply too many questions this late at night. He was too tired for any rational thinking, so he dropped his thoughts for now.

When they finally walked through the door to their dorm Remus saw James sitting on his bed with a barely awake Peter snoozing off next to him.

"Traitors!" Sirius shouted and gave James and Peter a sharp jab in the shoulder each. Remus simply walked over to his bed to change into his pajamas.

"Ow!" Peter cried as he was forcefully woken up by Sirius.

"Calm down Padfood, we didn't mean to leave you like that, alright?" James tried to calm Sirius down.

"Then why did you? We had to clean cauldrons for three bloody hours man, _three_ hours!" Sirius sighed but then slumped down next to James on his bed.

"Well, I heard someone approaching so I quickly draped the cloak over me and Wormy, but when I was going to ask Moony why he hadn't checked the Map it was too late and Filch had already stepped inside the doors." James shrugged and gave Sirius an apologetic pat on the shoulder. "It would only seem silly if we jumped out of the cloak and got caught as well. Plus the fact that I don't want any of the teachers to know about the cloak." James sighed.

"Yeah, well okay. I understand." Sirius gave James a pat on the shoulder.

"But you're still a wanker!" Sirius quickly jumped up from the bed and ran the way to the safety of his own laughing. James chased after him, chuckling as well, he only got a handful of Sirius' robe when he grabbed for him in the air.

About twenty minutes later the ruckus had worn off. James and Peter were both sound asleep in their beds and Sirius in his. But from where Remus laid buried deep underneath his warm covers sleep was far away. Suddenly the tiredness he'd felt for hours was long gone and instead replaced by a nervous churning in his stomach. He was anxious because the next day was Valentine's day. The day when the owl would send his love letter to Sirius.

He didn't know if it was excitement or nervousness that dominated in his stomach only that it was one of those that made him end up with his hands around his stomach, curled into a ball at the top of his bed.

It felt like it was hours ago he had closed the curtains and gone to bed. He turned over to lie on his back and stared up the ceiling. He let his mind wander to the possible outcomes of his letter. He thought that Sirius would either throw the card away immediately or keep it to cherish some more. Remus didn't know which was worse.

Then his eyes widened in fear. What if he didn't read the card at all?

He bit his lip in frustration. He couldn't sort out his emotions. He didn't know what he wanted or how to stop this growing anticipation he felt building up in his chest. He didn't know if he wanted the day just to be over with or if he longed for it, desperate to see Sirius' reaction to his declaration of love.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a gap forming in his curtains.

"Can I come in?" A voice whispered. Remus felt his heart give a painful clench when he recognized the voice as Sirius'.

After making sure that his body was covered with the sheets and that his hair was flattened to his liking he whispered a low 'Yes' back.

He saw Sirius slink inside the gap and then close the curtains after him. He immediately sat down on the bed and reached for the covers.

Remus held back a yelp when Sirius lifted the covers off of him and lay down next to Remus, covering them both with the covers. Remus felt heat rush to his cheeks when Sirius turned to his side, positioning them almost nose-to-nose.

"Can't sleep?" Remus whispered while gazing into Sirius' wonderful eyes.

"No." Sirius gave Remus a kind smile. "You neither?"

"No." Remus smiled shyly back at him. He hoped it wasn't obvious that he had been held awake by his thoughts of Sirius and the love letter he was going to send him the next morning.

"Why?" Sirius smile changed into a concerned frown and Remus felt his panic return.

"I-I, no reason." He spluttered, mentally rolling his eyes at his stuttering. He was a bad liar, but at least he hadn't blurted everything out.

"Oh, okay." Sirius didn't look like he believed it. He turned to lie on his back and Remus did the same, their shoulders brushing against each other in the process.

"How about you?" Remus asked after a while. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Same reason as you." Sirius mumbled to the ceiling. Remus turned his head to the side to look at him.

"So…no reason?" Well, that was odd. It was only a last minute explanation Remus had thought of in pure panic. Why couldn't Sirius tell him the real reason behind his sleeplessness?

"Exactly." Sirius mumbled again. He looked bothered by the subject so Remus let it drop, even though he was dying to know what Sirius might be nervous or anxious about.

They both lay in silence for a while, staring at the ceiling while listening to each other's breaths. Remus felt himself start to relax as Sirius' presence always managed to make him feel safe. His eyelids drifted close and he felt the sleep slowly approaching.

He wasn't sure, but right before he fell asleep he thought he felt a warm hand close around his own.


	7. Day five - part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day five out of seven already, hope you like this chapter! 
> 
> And Happy Halloween!

**_Day five - part one_ **

"Moony wake up already!"

Remus snapped his eyes open and lifted his hands to push away James that was hunched over him. James was holding Remus by the shoulders, forcefully shaking him awake.

"Get off me!" Remus managed as he yanked James of off him and rose up from the bed. While stumbling in the direction of their shared bathroom he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. He had gotten far too little sleep last night.

Yawning he placed his right hand on the doorknob to open the door but when he saw the over side of his hand he stopped in his tracks. He gasped in horror when he saw the angry blisters covering the palm and over side of his hand. Lifting up his left hand he saw that it looked the same.

"Where's Padfoot?" He asked over his shoulder to no one in particular. He wondered if his hands looked the same.

But when he didn't get an answer he turned around on the spot and spread his gaze around the room. James and Peter were running around the room, shouting things to each other creating a ruckus. When Remus saw Sirius' empty bed he vaguely remembered that he had fallen asleep with Sirius next to him the night before. Though, he couldn't remember if Sirius had gone back to his own bed after that. Remus couldn't quite name the feeling but somehow he knew that he had felt safe all night, so perhaps Sirius had stayed with him after all.

"Where's Padfoot?" He repeated; voice louder this time successfully gathering the attention of James and Peter.

"He said something about blisters and the Hospital Wing." Peter answered with a shrug.

"He left about twenty minutes ago." James added from where he sat hunched on the floor, searching for something in his trunk.

Remus let out another yawn as he looked around the room for a clock. He spotted one on Peter's nightstand so he walked closer to get a better look at it. He squinted at it.

It was 06:30.

"Merlin's balls! Why did you wake me up so early?" Remus voice squeaked at the end when he stared at James baffled. His estimated sleep had gone from his usual seven to a five at most.

"Well to be honest we woke you up about thirty minutes later than everyone else." Peter stated from where he had crouched down next to James to help him find what he was looking for.

"But why?" Remus stared at them, unable to understand why his three friends had woken up at _6 AM_.

"What can I say Moony? It's a big day today." James sang.

"Very big!" Peter repeated with a smug grin.

"What do you mean?" Remus crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at them. Whatever they implied it probably wasn't anything good. Remus just hoped that he wouldn't be dragged along for another last minute prank like the evening prior.

"It's Valentine's day!" James bellowed and then leaned in to plant a kiss on Peter's cheek that left him wiping his cheek, mumbling 'eww, gross' to James'.

"So?" Remus asked, trying to pull off an air of nonchalance. He hoped that they weren't going to see the nervous sweat that broke out on his forehead.

"When you were off for detention yesterday Wormy and I here kind of threw together a bunch of fake-valentine cards that we're going to send to the slimiest Slytherins before breakfast. We had to wake up extra early so that we would be able to sneak out to the owlery without getting seen." James gave Remus a wink.

"We drew dirty pictures and wrote bad poems on them." Peter chimed in with a proud smile.

Remus sighed, irritated as he rubbed his forehead.

"Do I even want to know?" He mumbled to himself under his breath.

"My favorite card is the one that says 'Snape, Snape, your hair look like a cape. You're nose looks like a hook and your face is long like a ding dong. But yours is probably very small, that's all.'" James bellowed before he erupted in a laughing fit.

"'PS. Eat a duck because u suck.'" Peter added before he bent over laughing, throwing himself on top of James on the floor.

It was far too early in the morning for Remus to have to bear witness to such childish acts.

"Why did you wake me up as well?" Remus asked confused the laughing pile that was James and Peter. But he didn't get to hear the answer as the door slammed open in just that moment.

Sirius came rushing in through the door, not looking the least bit tired from the way he was grinning at his three friends.

"Moony!" He chirmed when he spotted Remus standing in the middle of their dorm with his arms crossed. His hair was still a mess and he hadn't changed out of his pajamas yet. Remus suddenly felt underdressed among his fully clad friends.

"Morning Padfoot." Remus answered Sirius' cheerful greeting with a growl.

"I went to the Hospital Wing to get some healing potion for our blisters," He handed Remus a small vial of some suspicious looking lotion. "Pomfrey was not too happy after I'd woken her up with loud bangs on the door." He shrugged.

"I wonder why?" Remus mumbled as he rolled his eyes again.

"Slept well Moony?" Sirius threw an arm over his shoulders and nudged him in the side. Remus felt the butterflies in his stomach return when a whiff of Sirius' scent reached Remus' nostrils. Suddenly his brain melted and he forgot about everyone and everything.

"What?" He blurted, feeling very confused. He didn't like how easy Sirius' presence affected him, but perhaps he could blame this incident on his lack of sleep.

Sirius reached out with his free hand and ruffled Remus' hair with it.

"Hurry up and put some of that lotion on. We need to get going soon." Sirius let Remus go and walked over to where James and Peter had gone back to dug around in James' trunk.

Remus opened the lid to the vial and proceeded to put lotion on his hands. They felt instantly better.

When his hands were magically free from blisters he went on with his morning routine. However, the moment he was fully dressed and equipped with the supplies he would need for the day he felt himself being reluctantly dragged out of their dorm by James, Sirius and Peter. They had found all the fake-cards in James trunk and now they were heading for the owlery where they would borrow a couple of the schools owls to send them.

When they were inside the cold owlery James took a bunch of cards that he sent for Snape, Sirius took a bunch that he sent to a list of well-known names such as Avery, Malfoy and Nott. Remus also thought he saw Sirius send one card to his brother Regulus, with an evil glint in his eyes.

Peter sent the remaining cards to other students from the Slytherin house. Before they left Remus thought he saw Peter and James snuck out a couple of more cards to send of, but they looked more genuine with nice ribbons and fine envelopes. Remus narrowed his eyes at that. Were they perhaps sending real Valentine cards to their secret crushes?

When James, Sirius and Peter finally had sent all cards the four friends finally made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. But when they stepped inside the scene took Remus' breath away.

The banners they had enchanted the day before were to their disliking transfigured back to normal, but the entire Great Hall was decorated especially for the day. Ribbons hung from the walls, hearts floated around among the hundreds of candles in the air above them and the tables were all clad with a deep red tablecloth that reached from beginning to end. And someone, probably one of the professors, had charmed the armors along the walls to sing love songs whenever a student passed.

The most prominent change though was the windows. Someone had charmed the glass in the tall windows all around the hall to shine a beautiful shade of the lightest pink with silver lines making the contour of the four house animals. When the sun shone through the glass the silver details sparkled like the stars in the sky.

"Wow." Remus gasped after he had taken in the beautiful scene in front of him. He hadn't realized that he had stopped walking until he felt Peter walk into him.

After each member of the marauders had voiced their own 'wow' or 'awesome' they continued their walk towards their usual spots by the Gryffindor table. Sirius sat down next to Remus, Peter in front of Remus and James next to Peter. They chatted about today's lessons as more students strolled into the Great Hall.

When the tables in the Great Hall were almost filled to the brim with students the food magically appeared, out of nowhere.

James and Peter started piling up piles of food onto their plates, but Remus only took a fried egg that he ended up playing with. He wasn't hungry. In fact, he started to feel sick waiting for the owls to arrive.

"Aren't you hungry?" James asked, mouth full of sausage.

Remus was just about to answer him when he noticed that James' attention wasn't turned to him. It was turned on Sirius.

"Not very hungry." Sirius shrugged and gave James what he thought was a convincing look. But people didn't say James and Sirius were like brothers for nothing.

"What is it?" James swallowed his mouthful as he turned a concerned glance at Sirius. "Come on, out with it." He looked deeply into Sirius' eyes, like he was searching for something. But then Remus saw something odd.

Sirius widened his eyes a bit, but then swiftly turned them back to normal. Then he nodded to James before he looked deeply into James' eyes, it looked almost as if they spoke with their eyes.

After a couple of seconds James got a look of understanding dawned upon his facial features as his mouth turned into the shape of an 'o' and he widened his eyes in understanding. Then they smiled at each other and James returned his attention to his food.

Remus frowned at the peculiar exchange between James and Sirius. Remus couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something.

"What was that about?" Peter said the words Remus had been thinking about.

"What was what about Wormy?" Sirius asked Peter, now reaching for the plate of sausages.

"That 'thing' between you and Prongs right there. What was that about?" Peter looked a mixture between confused and angry. He was probably angry because he felt excluded.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Sirius huffed while shrugging.

"Me neither." James chirped, now piling up another portion of scrambled eggs.

Peter glared first on James then on Sirius, but then he dropped the subject. Remus however did not feel ready to drop it just yet.

"Have I missed something?" Remus asked mostly Sirius.

"No?" Sirius answered after a couple of seconds of complete silence.

"Then what was that?" Remus lifted his eyebrows in question while glancing between James and Sirius.

"Was what?" Sirius tried to hide a chuckle but failed miserably. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, a bad habit he often did when irritated.

"Come on now Moony, Wormtail. Just drop it already, okay?" James tried to act peace maker.

Remus mumbled something to his fried egg before he let the subject drop.

He managed to eat half of the egg and drink a class of pumpkin juice, but felt ready to throw it all up when he heard the fluttering of wings coming from the owls.

"Oh look, it's the owls!" James shouted excitedly. "I hope I receive a card from Evans." He added. He leaned forward on the table to spot Lily a couple of chair to the left from him. He grinned at her and blew her a kiss to which she responded with many hurls and repeated shouting of the word 'gross'.

However Remus focus turned away from Lily when he saw a couple of owls heading their way. With his heart in his throat he saw the barn owl land in front of Sirius with Remus' deep blue card fastened around its leg. Remus stared at it, letting out an audible gulp.

Merlin, he was so nervous. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears and he was positively hyperventilating.

He saw Sirius' fingertips linger at the owl's leg while he mumbled something to himself, but then Remus attention was turned to the table in front of him when an owl landed in front of Peter.

When Remus looked around he saw that many of the students in the Great Hall had gotten an owl landing on their plates. When he glanced further back in the Hall he thought he could see Regulus receive the fake-card from their stroll to the owlery earlier that morning.

An owl landed in front of James, then another one, and another one.

"Wicked!" James laughed as he received the letters from the owls' legs.

Remus looked over at Sirius again and felt his heart do an uncomfortable jolt when he saw that Sirius had loosened the cord that secured the letter to the owl's leg and that he now flattened it out on the table.

Remus felt like he could faint from nervousness as he stared at the deep blue letter with silver text being held in Sirius' hand. He licked his dry lips and took a sip of the Pumpkin Juice, not liking how dry his mouth felt. He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers when suddenly another owl landed in front of Sirius.

Then another, and another. Remus frowned when he counted the many owls that landed in front of Sirius. He hadn't realized that he would get this much competition, Sirius hadn't even had time to open his card yet.

He slowly felt his nervousness turn into frustration when he watched Sirius retrieve letter after letter from the owls' legs. But then his attention was directed elsewhere when a snow white owl landed in front of Remus.

He felt his mouth open in shock as he stared at the owl. Who would send him a card? He gave James a suspicious glance. Could they have sent one of their fake-cards to Remus as well?

But Remus didn't care who the sender was right then. His curiosity overtook him when he loosened the letter from the owl's leg. After having a taste of Remus' fried egg the owl flew away.

Out of the corner of his eyes Remus saw Sirius receive letter after letter from different owls. So he hadn't read his card yet after all.

Not sure whether to feel relieved or nervous Remus turned his eyes back to the letter in his hands. It was in a beautiful shade of dark green, Remus' favorite color. At first the wonderful color made Remus feel calm but then he let his mind wander. Was it just a coincidence that the letter was transfigured into his favorite color or was this card from someone he knew?

He opened the envelope and brought out the card that Remus saw was in a beautiful shade of dark blue. It reminded him much of the card he had made for Sirius, both in color and style.

In the lower right corner was a drawing of a book and in the upper left corner was a drawing of a big, red heart. The text glimmered in gold and seemed to be some sort of poem or rhyme. Remus wondered who the sender was if she or he knew about his secret admiration for poems.

The card read following:

_For my precious moonbeam  
that should try out for the team_

_But not as a seeker  
because you're a keeper_

_You're not like the others in class  
you're the only one that's badass_

_You're unique and clever  
I've loved you since forever_

_Happy Valentines,  
Love, S_

Remus read the text over and over again, until he'd memorized it from beginning to end. It wasn't the best poem he'd ever read but it didn't matter. He was almost moved to tears when he felt the honesty in the last lines hit home right in his heart.

This was the nicest anyone had ever said or written to him and he desperately hoped it wasn't one of his friend's prank cards.

He swiped his fingertips over the card, caressing it, before he read it over again. He felt his heart clench in longing when he read the words. He suddenly felt a strong urge to find the writer of the letter and thank her or him personally. Telling them that they had moved him to the bottom of his heart.

Then he read the last line again. 'Love, S'. Who was S? Remus searched in his brain for people with names that begun with an S. Slughorn, Snape, Sophie, Sirius...

Remus felt his heart jump in his chest from excitement. What if it was Sirius? But then he fought down the hope that slowly built up in his chest. Why would Sirius send him a card? If he liked him back he could just tell him face to face. And, if Sirius growing pile of love letters was anything to go by he had enough of possible girlfriends to last him until they graduated. There was no reason for Sirius to like him back. So that's why Remus leaned back in his chair to gaze around the Hall, looking for anyone he remembered had a name beginning with an 'S'.

Though after only a couple of seconds he returned his gaze to read the card once more. And after reading it for what seemed to be the eighth time Remus discreetly wiped a tear from his eyes on his sleeve.

"What does the card say Moony?" James asked as he leaned forward on the table, looking curious, trying to get a glimpse.

Out of the corner of his eyes Remus thought he saw Sirius' flinch, but it could've been just from his imagination.

"Ehm," Remus started. He wasn't sure if he wanted to share the card with anyone just yet.

"It must have been something really good if it made you cry." James winked at him.

"I'm not crying!" Remus squeaked and then slapped a hand over his mouth. He pressed the letter protectively to his chest with his other hand.

"If you say so." James sang.

"Did you get a card as well?" James had turned his attention to Peter who had been staring dumbfounded at a card for the last ten minutes.

"I got a card from Dorcas." Peter explained, eyes never leaving the letter in his hands. Remus thought it must have contained something either dirty or lovely for Peter to stare at it like that.

"Who was your card from now again Moony?" James turned his attention back to Remus, now wearing a smug smirk.

"I didn't tell you." Remus narrowed his eyes at James.

"Come on." James pleaded, pouting, attempting to do Sirius' well known puppy-dog-eyes.

"Okay I'll tell you." Remus sighed. He didn't want to deal with James' stubbornness anymore. "It's from 'S'."

"S?" Peter finally looked up from his card to give Remus a look of utter confusion. James however looked even smugger from where he leaned his elbows on the table.

"S you say?" James gave Remus a weird look.

"How so? Do you know who it is?" Remus didn't know how to read James' odd facial expression. It almost looked like he knew who it was from.

"No-" James started but was interrupted by Remus' sudden outburst.

"It was you weren't it?" Remus meant to hiss but he ended up almost shouting, earning himself glances from students all around them. "It's just another one of your fake cards, isn't it?" He slammed the card forcefully on the table, suddenly very angry. He'd known it had been too good to be true. After all, who would write such nice things for him out of their free will?

"No, Remus please calm down." James pleaded as he reached for Remus' hand, but Remus quickly retrieved it and placed his hands under the table.

"Remus I swear, that card is not from us. We would never prank you like that. Marauder's honor." James spoke in a low, clear voice, eyes boring into Remus as he tried to explain the truth to him.

"Marauder's honor." Peter repeated from next to him, giving Remus a pleading look as well.

Remus still felt shaken but then felt himself calming down. "Alright. But if I somehow find out that this if from you and that you're lying right now you'll wish you were dead." He threatened, glaring at Peter that looked afraid.

"Moony, calm down. We would never. _Never_." James repeated, and when Remus saw his pleading look this time he believed him.

"O-okay then." He spoke, head turned to stare at his plate. "Sorry I got so upset." He mumbled.

"It's alright." James leaned over the table, his chest pressing against his plate, to give Remus a pat on his shoulder. Remus glanced back at him and was met by a reassuring smile.

"It's our fault for even making you consider that." James added when he had Remus' full attention.

Remus didn't think the card was from his friends' pile of fake-cards anymore, but it wasn't everyday Remus heard James apologize for something so he didn't tell him to stop.

However, James babbling was interrupted when another set of owls landed on their table. One landed on James' back, another one landed on Remus' shoulder and the third and fourth landed on top of Sirius' head and shoulder.

Remus reached for the bird's leg, loosened the letter from its leg and then flattened out his robe when the owl had flown away again.

After he brought out the card from its envelope Remus looked at it. It was bright pink with red text and hearts drawn all over it. Remus smiled to himself when he recognized the handwriting.

_Happy Valentines Remus_

_You're amazing and don't you dare think anything else!_

_With much love_

_Lily_

He smiled as he reread the letter. It was kind of Lily to make him a letter when she didn't have to. He hadn't made one for her after all.

Remus leaned back on his seat and looked to the right, spotting Lily and her red hair almost immediately. He was just going to shout for her to look up when she did.

He waved her card with one hand and smiled kindly at her. He tried to tell her that he was very grateful but that she didn't need to go through the trouble of making a card just for him. She grinned at him and waved one of her hands in the air, telling him that it was nothing. They smiled at each other for a moment longer but then a noise got Remus' attention.

"Get away from me!" Sirius shrieked from where he flew his hands around his body next to Remus.

"Excuse me?" Remus frowned at him.

"Not you, the bloody owls!" Sirius waved his hands in the air some more, successfully hitting an owl that was on its way to their table.

"What's the matter Padfoot?" James chuckled from where he was reading his last letter.

"I've had enough of these damn birds already! I've got feathers all over my plate, clothes and hair. Why can't it stop already?" Sirius shrieked, looking almost crazy with his hair messed up and eyes glaring at the three owls that just landed in front of him.

"It's your own fault for getting yourself so many admirers." James sang, not seeming to pity Sirius one bit.

"I can't help that I'm illegally good looking." Sirius joked, but the joke didn't sound very funny since his voice was harsh.

"I would be happy if I were you." Peter piped from where he was gazing longingly at Sirius' growing pile of cards. "I mean, you've probably got the most letters in the entire school."

Sirius made a frustrated growl. "But I don't need all of these!" He cried and then ripped one of the letters in half just to make a statement. "I don't care about these cards. The ones that sent them only want me for my looks anyway." He ripped another card into half.

Remus felt his panic return. What if Sirius was just going to rip his card into half as well? What if he thought that Remus only liked him for his looks? Okay, he might not even know about Remus' crush on him yet, but Remus did not like the idea of being thought of as 'just another one that likes me for my looks'. He sighed and shook his head. He needed to stop worrying so much already.

Peter squeaked when he saw Sirius rip a third card into half. Peter quickly reached out to get the cards from the three owls that walked around on the table in front of them. When Peter retrieved the last card he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"These cards are all from Sophie." Peter held up the three cards and waved them in the air in front of Sirius' face.

"Sophie who?" Sirius looked a mixture between irritated and confused.

"McLennon." Peter gave Sirius a look of pure disbelief. "You know, the girl that has flirted openly with you since last month?" He lifted his eyebrows at Sirius who only shrugged in response.

"I don't want the cards, you can take them if you want."

Peter shared a look with Remus. It was a bit difficult for them to understand how someone could just throw away something that someone had made for them, but perhaps it was easier for Sirius considering how big his pile of cards was.

"How many cards are there, do you reckon?" James asked Sirius that had proceeded to run his hands through his pile that had spread all over their table.

"Dunno, twenty perhaps?" Sirius spread out his pile some more, flattening it out further on the table.

"More like fifity." James stared at the pile, eyes wide with disbelief.

"This must be some sort of record or something." Peter piped in from where he was still staring at the letters longingly.

Remus however only felt sick when he saw the enormous pile of cards in front of them. There were mostly pink cards, but he saw some that were in different colors such as red and purple. Remus' card was lost somewhere at the very bottom of it. He hadn't seen it since it arrived with the owl.

Remus sighed. Sirius was probably only going to read a couple of the letters and then throw the rest away. Or perhaps throw them all away as soon as they left the Great Hall, if his foul mood was anything to go by.

Yet again, Remus wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed about the fact that his letter wouldn't be read by its receiver.

"Found it!" Sirius suddenly shouted from next to him, not hiding the joyful laughter that left his lips.

"Found what?" Remus, James and Peter asked at the same time.

"This."

Sirius held up a letter and waved it in his hand. He smiled shyly at them. "This is the only letter that stood out from the crowd and the one I received first." He said as a matter of fact.

Remus turned his focus to the letter in Sirius' hand and felt his heart make a painful jump in his chest. It was his letter. It was his deep blue letter with silver text that Sirius right now flattened out against the table in front of him.

Remus let slip an audible gulp as he stared at Sirius' hands working on the opening. Remus' stomach _hurt_ from the anticipation, but he couldn't turn his gaze away. He needed to watch Sirius' reaction first hand.

"What does it say Padfoot?" James asked, almost bouncing on his chair from curiosity.

"Who is it from?" Peter asked, looking just as curious.

"Shh, let me read it first, would you?" Sirius murmured at them as he turned his full attention to the card in front of him.

"What a nice color on the envelope-" Peter started but was interrupted by Remus.

"Shh!" Remus snapped at him. Peter was not going to destroy this moment.

While Sirius retrieved the card from its envelope Remus, James and Peter turned their attention to Sirius.

With his heart thumping in his ears Remus watched Sirius' eyes widen when he saw the card for the first time. Remus thought he heard Sirius' breath hitch, but it could have been James or Peter as well.

He watched Sirius trace his fingertips over the crescent moon and then over the drawing of Canis Major. Sirius' face turned soft and he smiled watery down at the silvery text that shone like the stars as he read it for the first time.

"To the brightest star in the sky," Sirius mumbled under his breath but stopped as his voice broke at the end. Remus watched Sirius' eyes read the poem from beginning to end, widening more after every sentence.

When Sirius had read the text four times, traced his fingers over the crescent moon five times and sighed dreamily eight times James curiosity got the best of him.

"Who's it from?" He asked, leaning forward on the table trying to catch a glimpse.

"What does it say?" Peter leaned forward as well.

"Yeah, what does it say..." Remus mumbled, not wanting to reveal himself by staying silent when the others were curious.

"Just give me a minute. I need a moment." Sirius murmured, eyes never leaving the card in his hands.

Remus chest swelled with affection when he saw Sirius' eyebrows frown, lips part and eyes water. It really looked like the words affected him, but in a good way and Remus couldn't help but to feel a bit proud of himself.

But the greatest question still remained. Would Sirius be able to trace the letter back to Remus? Remus felt his stomach clench with nervousness just from thinking about it. He still hadn't decided whether he wanted Sirius to find out or not.

"Are you done?" Peter asked after a minute or two, being the first to break the silence that had spread around them.

"Please tell us Padfoot." James pleaded, protruding his lower lip while attempting Sirius' puppy-dog-eyes for the second time that morning. Sirius huffed and shook his head before he answered.

"This," he waved the card in the air while raising his eyebrows, "is the most wonderful thing I have read. Like, ever." He leaned his elbows on the table, held the card between his fingers and stared at it in pure disbelief.

"What does it say?" Peter repeated.

"Yeah, can we read it?" James asked, almost bouncing in his chair from excitement.

Sirius looked at the card some more, giddy smile on his lips, looking genuinely happy. Remus felt another ounce of pride when he realized that he was the one that had made Sirius look so happy.

"Here you can read it if you want, but don't touch it. I don't need your greasy fingerprints all over it." Sirius said while placing the card in front of James, Peter and Remus.

Remus tried to act like he was reading the familiar text for the first time.

_To the brightest star in the sky  
You make me want to try_

_To the most handsome boy in Gryffindor  
You make all my worries fall to the floor_

_To the one that's not afraid to take a fight  
You chase away my 'mares at night_

_To the one with the brilliant silver eyes  
You're gaze shine brighter than the night skies_

_To the one that stole my heart and tucked it away  
You will always hear me say_

_I love you_

_-R_

"Wow." Peter declared, being the first one that finished reading the card.

"It's really good." James mumbled as he gave Sirius a quick glance.

"Yeah." Remus mumbled, not daring to look anyone in the eye. His face was burning from embarrassment, forehead and palms sweaty from nervousness and heart pounding fast from excitement. Remus felt like a mess and was sure it would be noticeable in his eyes or voice. Thus, he kept both his gaze and voice low.

"It's brilliant but I would like to make a slight change in the text. I'm sorry Padfoot but you're only the second most handsome boy in Gryffindor. Number one is sitting right here." He gave Sirius an apologetic pat on his shoulder and chuckled when Sirius swatted his hand away with a grimace.

"Tosser." Sirius growled at James before he reached for his card. He picked it up and made to tuck it away in the inner pocket of his robe.

"Who's R?" Peter asked, frowning in confusion.

"I don't know. It could be anyone, really." Sirius shrugged.

"Do you have a guess?" James tried.

"I don't know. As I said it could be anyone. There's a Rosalie in Ravenclaw, a Ramana and Rima in Hufflepuff and tons of Ronald's, Roger's and Rose's in Gryffindor.

"You think it's from a boy?" Peter asked, suddenly looking even more curious, like he was on the edge to finding out about the next big scoop.

"Does it matter?" Sirius bit back, looking angry.

"No, of course not..." Peter trailed of.

"Who do you think it's from Moony?"

Remus jerked at the spot when James asked him. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes to gain him some time.

"Eh, I- I don't know." He stuttered while wondering if he looked as panicked as he felt. He gulped when James looked at him with an odd look. It looked like he was analyzing him again.

"Moony are you feeling alright?"

Remus jerked again when he felt Sirius warm hand land on his shoulder. Not trusting his voice to speak without stuttering he nodded in response.

When Sirius moved his hand to swipe up and down his back he felt a shiver run down his spine and closed his eyes from the sensation. Sweet Merlin, he missed the time when his body would listen to him.

Feeling Sirius' hand leave him Remus glanced back up. He looked into Sirius' beautiful grey eyes that instantly took his breath away. He gazed longingly into those eyes but started to worry when he realized that Sirius searched his eyes for something. Remus quickly turned his gaze away to stare at the table. Did Sirius already suspect him?

"Doesn't Sophie McLennon's middle name start with an R? What was it... Rachel! Her middle name's Rachel." Peter spoke suddenly.

"Why would she send me this when she already sent me over three letters? And why do you even know that? Did you stalk her or something?" Sirius asked Peter, looking torn between wanting to scold him or mock him about it.

"No, I just overheard her once." Peter looked insulted.

"Okay Wormy, if you say so." Sirius trailed off as he turned his attention back to Remus.

Remus felt Sirius' eyes linger on him for the rest of the breakfast, but he didn't ask him to turn his gaze away. Perhaps Sirius wondered why he was so red in the face, or why his forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat.

Every third minute or so Remus would turn his head to the side to look Sirius in the eyes but every time he turned the other way. Remus frowned at the odd behavior but yet again he didn't ask Sirius about it.

James and Peter started rabbling up the names of every student whose name started with an R. Then they remembered Remus' mysterious admirer and begun rabbling names starting with an S as well.

Remus fiddled with the card in his hands for the rest of the breakfast, smiling to himself as he reread the next. He didn't let go of the card until it was time for them to head to their first lesson that was Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Remus carefully placed the card back in its envelope and then proceeded to place it in his inner pocket of his robe.

He saw Sirius rise up from his seat and leave, not bringing any of his cards with him except for Remus' that was already secured in his pocket. Though, Remus thought he saw Peter take a couple of the letters for himself.

When they'd all gathered their belongings they finally left the Great Hall and headed in the direction of the DADA classroom. It was Remus' favorite subject and he was filled with a good feeling for the approaching day.

So he left the Great Hall with a smile.


	8. Day five - part two

**_Day five - part two_ **

When the four friends had successfully made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom Remus sat down next to Peter and Sirius next to James. Professor Gimmly was a tall middle aged man that that had worked many years as an Auror for the ministry. Remus thought he gave of an aura of respect, which might be the reason why the students always were deadly quiet during his presentations.

After the DADA lesson finished James, Sirius, Remus and Peter brought up their scarves from their bags and swiped them tightly around them. They were heading outside for a lesson of Magical Creatures. None of them liked that subject very much, Remus because of the cold, the others because of the heaps of homework. Also; the most interesting lesson yet had been when the class got to see a real life unicorn, but the boys weren't allowed to even go near it. Remus thought it was highly unfair.

Another reason why Remus didn't fancy the lessons in Magical Creatures was because some of the animals seemed to almost flee as soon as they spotted Remus in the crowd. More than once had the teacher needed to pause the lecture in order to find the animal that had run away. Remus suspected it had something to do with the fact that he was a Dark Creature.

When they'd waded through the snow from the entrance to the outskirts of the forbidden forest where today's lesson would take off they stopped walking. Remus blew out hot air on his frozen fingers. Next to him he saw Peter do the same thing. James and Sirius warmed their hands in each other's armpits.

Remus started stomping on the ground to keep warm when he saw the other students approaching. This class they shared with the Slytherin fourth years, and to the marauders disliking they saw Snape walking towards them with a snarl.

Remus heard James huff and Sirius mutter something about 'Slimy bastards' before they pushed their way between Remus and Peter, closing the distance between them and the Slytherins.

"Well, well. If it isn't old Snivellus!" James bellowed when they stopped in front of Snape.

"What do you want Potter?" Snape spat James in the face.

"A bit agitated today, are we?" Sirius mocked him.

Remus felt an uncomfortable lump build in the pit of his stomach. He did not like when his friends tormented Snape, especially not when he had to bear witness to it. But he didn't have the power or will to interrupt so he simply continued to watch from his spot. He knew that being a spectator was almost as bad as being the teaser, but for some reason he didn't feel like standing up for Snape. He thought it might have something to do with the fact that Snape never had stood up for him.

"Fuck off Black." Snape turned his vicious glare to Sirius.

"I would watch my tongue of I were you." James crossed his arms as he gave Snape a challenging look.

"Get out of my way." Snape growled, glare never leaving Sirius.

"No." Sirius sang as he leaned his right elbow on James' shoulder.

Remus saw Snape reach for his wand but didn't get to know what he was going to do with it since their professor appeared in that exact moment.

"Potter, Black, Snape, is there a problem?" The professor asked as she hurriedly made her way towards the crowd of students.

"No, professor." James and Sirius sang at the same time, both of them making their well-practiced innocent smiles. Snape however did not stop glaring.

"Good, then we'll get along with the lesson." Professor Ama said as she placed herself in front of the class. "Okay! Students, gather around me please. Boys on this side and girls on this side." She motioned with her hand that the boys were to stand to the right and girls to the left. Remus got suspicious, what if they were going to study another unicorn?

Al though, as the lesson went on it became clear that Professor Ama was in fact only old fashioned. They ended up talking about Hippogriffs, Ama showing them their typical types of food and how to recognize a footprint. When Sirius asked why she hadn't brought one with them for them to see she had told them something about them being too young or that it was too dangerous.

Remus had simply sighed. He couldn't understand how she could think that anything she said would stick unless they got to see an actual hippogriff.

~

After a very cold double lesson of Magical Creatures, a quick lunch and another cold lesson of Herbology the boys were finally heading for their last lesson of the day; Divination. Remus thought one lesson a week of the bloody subject should've been more than enough but according to some school law the students had to have at least two lessons of a subject per week.

None of the four friends were particularly fond of the subject. They had merely choosed it because it would be a great end of the week, because unlike Remus James, Sirius and Peter either fell asleep or played cards underneath the table. Remus was left to take notes like usual, although sometimes he found himself playing cards underneath the table as well. But unlike them Remus felt a strong urge to do well in every subject, no matter how boring. He felt like he owed Dumbledore that for allowing him to go to Hogwarts.

Just as they had walked out from Greenhouse three, took off their gloves along the way, Remus remembered that he had left his Divination notes and school book in his dorm. He slapped his own forehead for being so stupid. Now he would need to make a detour to their dorm, and the lesson started in less than fifteen minutes.

Not wasting another second he immediately started running past his friends towards the castle while shouting "I left my books in the dorm, you can go ahead, I'll be back in a minute!" over his shoulder. He didn't wait for their replies but instead started running faster, in through the Great Doors and through the Entrance Hall.

He skittered down to a rushed walk when he spotted Professor McGonagall's frame walking in to the Great Hall. He tried to make as little noise as possible, not wanting her to see him, when he slowly walked towards the stairs that led to the Gryffindor Tower.

However, with all his attention aimed at Professor McGonagall's retreating frame he didn't notice the approaching steps.

He jerked at the spot when he felt a hand clasp over his mouth, silencing his surprised shout.

"You'll come with us now, Lupin." A sleazy voice spoke uncomfortably close to his ear. Remus' eyes widened in horror when he recognized the voice as Rosier's.

"Don't say a word or you'll be sorry." Another voice hissed, face hidden behind Rosier but Remus didn't need to see him to realize that the voice belonged to creepy Crouch.

Out of the corner of his eyes Remus thought he saw Avery, Snape and a fifth year girl. He gulped when he felt his arms being forcefully locked behind him in a tight grip.

He wanted to puke when he heard the evil chuckles coming from Rosier and Crouch that were now pushing him forward. Remus frowned in thought as he felt himself being pushed forward. If he wanted to he could easily free his arms from the grip and send a punch to Rosier and Crouch each. But he didn't want to accidentally hurt them. It wouldn't look good if he was sent to Dumbledore's office for reconstructing the faces of two other students. But the thought of just letting himself be toyed with wasn't pleasant either.

The optional solution would be to somehow shake off Rosier and Crouch and then run for it. He didn't think that Avery, Snape or the girl was going to do more than simply watch, so the real threat were the ones pushing him forward right now.

Sure, he was afraid by what they might do to him but he still felt a small string of hope. The fact that he _had_ the possibility to break free at any moment let him take control of the situation instead of panicking.

"In here?"

Remus opened his eyes when he heard the girl ask his ambushers a question. He saw that they had led him in to the Slytherin dungeons and that that the girl was motioning in the direction of a mostly abandoned corridor. Frowning Remus realized it was the corridor they had dumped him the last time. Perhaps it's where they leave all their offers after they've got tired of playing with them.

Remus felt the grip on his arms tightened when Rosier huffed something close to his ear. When Remus caught a whiff of his disgusting breath something in him snapped. He felt his laid back attitude change into something different. Something feral.

He felt anger build up in him as the Wolf within him reacted to the feeling of being tied up.

"Get your wands ready." Crouch told his companions before he aimed for them to place themselves in front of Remus in a half-circle.

Remus gritted his teeth when he felt his anger turn into fury. Suddenly he didn't care about what Dumbledore was going to think. The only thing that mattered was the fact that Remus had allowed this bunch of bullies to bother him for far too long.

He darted his eyes from side to side, trying to find an exit, but all he saw was the hard stone walls of the corridor. He looked to his right and locked eyes with Snape. He thought Snape jerked a bit when he glared into his eyes, but wasn't sure as Snape immediately straightened his posture and raised his wand at Remus with a steady grip.

Remus turned his gaze to the left to glare at Avery instead. He narrowed his eyes at him, which resulted in Avery voicing a slight hitch. When Remus realized that Avery looked afraid he felt a vicious grin spread his lips. They had no idea that they would soon have to deal with a raging teen werewolf.

When Remus lowered his gaze to stare at the tiles in the floor he felt a small chuckle leave his lips. It all suddenly seemed so funny to him. The way that Rosier and his gang had tried talk him into thinking he was ugly, wrong and weak.

Remus laughed at the irony of the situation. All around him stood his bullies with their wands aimed at him. They had mocked him because they thought he was weak when in reality he could take down all of them in a matter of seconds.

He wasn't afraid anymore. These school students couldn't hurt him. He wouldn't allow them to.

"What are you laughing at?" Rosier spat from behind. Remus didn't answer but stopped laughing. He needed to think out a plan...

He felt relief wash over him when he felt Rosier's grip on his arms loosen, but it was almost immediately replaced by adrenaline when Rosier turned him around to grip at the front on his robes.

"I said, what are you laughing at?" Rosier repeated, voice lower but not losing its threatening tone.

Remus glared at him before he gritted his teeth. This was his chance.

Before anyone had time to react Remus reached out his right hand and placed a hard punch on Rosier's cheek that left him tumbling to the ground.

With no time to lose Remus quickly run the few steps to Avery and gave him a piece of his mind as well. He felt a spark of excitement when he saw Avery fall to the floor, nose bleeding a fountain to his white dress shirt.

Two down, three to go.

Remus turned his attention back up and saw the girl take off running the direction they had come from. When he realized she probably had run off to get a teacher he hurried on.

He directed his attention to Crouch who had just aimed his wand at him. Remus reached out, grabbed his wand and took with both hands before he broke it on his knee. Then he threw the pieces over his shoulder and rejoiced in the furious expression on Crouch's face.

Crouch started mumble something but he didn't get to finish his sentence as Remus curled his right hand into a fist and sent another punch flying, hitting Crouch's nose. He felt it crumble under his knuckles but didn't let go until he had Crouch laying on the floor, grabbing his nose with small whines of pain.

Remus was breathing in harsh pants from where he glared at Crouch madly. Just for good emphasis he aimed a hard kick at Crouch's side that left him curling into a ball.

Remus felt a vicious grin spread his lips as he aimed another kick at him, harder this time. He rejoiced in the feeling of finally getting revenge as he aimed kick after kick at Crouch.

"Hrm, hrm."

Remus stopped with his kicking when he heard someone clear their voice next to him. Snapping his head to the side he remembered that Snape was still standing there, now pressed up against the closest wall, looking a mixture between terrified and disgusted.

After delivering one last hard kick to Crouch's head just for emphasis Remus turned his full attention to Snape that was now aiming at him with his wand reached out, arm shaking.

"Just wait until Dumbledore hears about this." He spat, eyes darting between the groaning and bleeding bodies that were Rosier, Avery and Crouch.

When the words got a couple of seconds to sink in Remus felt his uncontrollable fury slowly rinse of him, leaving him with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. When he looked around him he started to feel mortified. He had done what he feared the most. He had lost control. And if that wasn't bad enough it looked like Snape was going to use it to blackmail him or something.

"Just you wait!" Snape spat again, eyes glistening evilly. "When Dumbledore find out about this you'll be expelled!" Snape grinned, looking happier than Remus had ever seen him before.

Remus felt torn between wanting to divulge in self-hate over what he had done or defend his action, proclaim that he was only acting in self-defense.

He took a step closer to Snape, wanting to talk things out with him one way or another, when he heard Snape shout "Petrificus Totalus!"

Immediately Remus felt every muscle in his body freeze and he fell to the floor, stiff as a plank. He darted his eyes from side to side desperately until he positioned them on Snape that grinned at him viciously.

"You filthy half-blood." He muttered under his breath.

"You'll stay here while I go get Dumbledore." He narrowed his eyes at Remus before he aimed a hard kick to his side. Then he aimed another one that sunk straight into his stomach.

Remus wanted to scream in pain from the kick that hurt twice as much since he couldn't clench his muscles, but stayed silent. The spell made any effort to speak useless.

He felt his eyes water in pain when Snape chuckling stepped on him to walk out from the dungeons.

"NOW!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Remus wanted to gasp from the surprise when he heard three voices shout at the same time. He saw the red lights from the spells reflect in the stone walls in front of him, and then heard a body fall to the floor from the power of the spell.

"Are you going somewhere Snivellus?"

Remus wanted to cry from joy when he recognized James' voice.

"Get off me!" A voice that sounded suspiciously a lot like Snape's shrieked.

Remus heard Sirius bellow a 'Petrificus Totalus' before he heard a body fall to the floor again.

In a matter of seconds Remus saw Sirius head appear in his view as he hunched down next to him. He saw Sirius aim his wand at him before he whispered 'Finite Incantatem'.

Remus felt his body unstiffen and he let out a sigh of relief. But then he felt his right side aching so he pressed both of his hands on it, face screwing up in a grimace.

James and Peter rushed to them. Remus saw James tuck his invincibility cloak in his bag. They had trailed him under the cloak, Remus realized.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked in a low voice, reaching out to brush away a couple of strands from Remus' eyes.

"Yes." Remus lied, pain visible in his voice.

"It was really cool you know. What you did back there." Peter blurted out from where he had sat down next to Sirius on the floor. He gave Remus a look of pure adoration that he usually only reserved for James. Remus felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment. He didn't know how to feel about the fact that not only Snape, but now Peter, James and Sirius had witnessed him lose control as well.

"Yeah, that was awesome." James gave Remus a look of pure disbelief. "If I ever need a bodyguard I'll call you." James joked while aiming a playful jab on Remus' shoulder. Though, when Remus didn't laugh back he frowned.

"Wait, are you hurt?"

"What do you think?" Remus spat while gritting his teeth.

"Come on, let me help you." Sirius spoke in a low voice from where he was trying to pry Remus' robe open.

Remus just wanted to head back to their dorm and sleep for a hundred years or so. He felt guilty for having hurt other students, he felt awkward about the fact that his best mates had seen him at it and now he felt bothered about the fact that Sirius wanted to get a look at the bruise covering his side and stomach.

But when he felt his stomach do another painful clench he swallowed his pride and lowered his hands to his side, allowing Sirius' to push away his robe.

He tried not to blush when he felt Sirius' fingers open up the lower buttons of his shirt. Then he tried not to shudder when he felt Sirius' fingertips skidder over his skin as he parted the shirt to get a better view of his wounds.

"Ih!" Peter squeaked.

"Oh," James said.

"I'm going to kill him." Sirius growled.

Remus lifted his head to see what they were talking about, only to realize it was his bruises. There was a big blue-ish patch of irritated skin right in the middle of his stomach, and another one on his side.

Remus leaned his head back against the floor and stared at the ceiling

He had to return to the Hospital Wing.

~

One hour later Remus found himself sitting shirtless on the edge of his usual bed in the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey did the last checkup on his bruises that were almost gone by now.

James, Sirius and Peter had dragged a reluctant Remus to the Hospital Wing before they headed for the lesson in Divination, certain to end up late. Sirius had tried to bribe Pomfrey into letting him stay, but she had been stern when she told him a blunt no. Remus liked to think that Sirius had wanted to stay because he liked him extra much, but knew it was only for the sake of skipping Divination.

"Yes, that's it. You're as good as new again." Pomfrey smiled and Remus before she reached out a hand to ruffle his hair.

"You know you're my favorite patient right?" She placed her hand on his chin, forcing him to look into her concern gaze.

"Yes," He mumbled under his breath. He felt heat rise to his cheeks. Pomfrey knew that he didn't fancy his frequent hospital visits so she always tried to make him relax by saying nice things like that. And she told him that approximately three times every visit, so Remus knew she meant what she said.

Even though he had heard it many times before he felt his heart swell a little, the kind words of Pomfrey hitting home.

He felt a small smile play on his lips which made Pomfrey light up.

"I'm not going to ask you what happened, since I know you won't tell me, but please be more careful next time, alright?" She pried, her hand now patting his shoulder.

"Okay." His smile turned shy as he murmured his reply.

"I need to go now, but take care Remus." Her smile was warm. "You can leave as well if you want. But if I know you right you will." She blinked at him once before raising up from the chair she'd sat on. Remus followed her retreating figure with his eyes while he searched the bed for his discarded shirt.

When he'd put the shirt back on he reached for his robe. He was just about to put it on when something crossed his mind.

He let his hand wander to the inner pocket, fingers digging inside, searching for the card.

He felt his heart do a worried clench when his fingers came in contact with a piece of crumbled paper. Horrified he grabbed the card and brought it out from his pocket. What he saw made him gasp.

The deep blue card had turned into a crumbled piece of paper with one of the top corners missing. Remus desperately tried to flatten it out as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

How could it have gotten so destroyed? But then he remembered. He closed his eyes in pure frustration when he remembered how Rosier had grabbed the front of his robes, right before Remus had hit him. Rosier's tight grip had probably been the cause for the damaged card in Remus' hands.

Remus put on his robe and rose up from the bed to leave when saw his wand laying on the nightstand. Right! He was a wizard; he could fix the card with magic.

He felt the sorrow being replaced by hope and he wiped his tears away before he reached for his wand. Then, with the wand in one hand and card in the other he pointed the wand at the card and said "Reparo".

With wide eyes he watched how the card flattened out in front of him. A tiny piece of paper that Remus had missed flew from the bed to be patched on to one of the top corners. The card looked as good as new.

He let out a great sigh of relief. The card was alright again.

Ha pressed the card securely to his chest and made to place his wand in his back pocket when he heard the doors slam open.

"Moony!" Sirius shouted, James and Peter trailing after him.

"Hello." He answered, not even half as enthusiastic as Sirius.

As he started walking towards his friends he placed the card back in his inner pocket, but this time he would make sure to stay out of fights.

"How was Divination?" Remus asked to break the ice. He still felt severely awkward about the fact that they had seen him lose control to the Wolf.

"I don't know, I fell asleep." Peter shrugged.

"I hexed every other student's shoelaces together." James added.

"I took notes for you." Sirius beamed as he tried to make Remus look him in the eyes. It worked.

"You what?" Remus stared at Sirius incredulously.

"Since you couldn't go. Just like after the full." Sirius gave him a small smile while uncertainly glancing into his eyes.

"Oh," Remus trailed of. Here he had been wondering about the fact that they might feel awkward around him after seeing him at his worst, when in fact Sirius had acted like a great friend and helped him. Remus felt embarrassed for how little trust he apparently had for his friends. Of course they wouldn't leave him. Not for having watched him beat down a couple of Slytherins that they despised anyway. They probably wouldn't leave him for anything.

"Thanks Padfoot." He gave him a warm smile. He really felt grateful.

"Can you leave now?" Peter piped while giving Remus a look over.

"Yeah." Remus mumbled, feeling himself getting lost in Sirius' eyes.

"So, should we go?" James asked, he and Peter sharing a look.

Remus quickly broke his and Sirius' eye contact and instead stared at the floor. He had to stop doing that. It had only ended up with him getting into trouble, and he did not need James or Peter' guessing his secret.

"Yes, come on mates." Sirius declared before he turned around on the spot and began walking out the doors.

Sirius led the way to the Gryffindor common room where they slumped down in their usual spot by the fireplace. Peter had walked to their dorm and back to get a heap of chocolate frogs that he threw on the coffee table. Remus took a frog and munched on it for a while.

He watched as his friends started talking about the upcoming Quidditch game. The match was tomorrow afternoon, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, and since James played chaser on the house team he was much invested.

Remus however did not fancy Quidditch very much. Sure, it was nice to look at sometimes and made for a good conversation subject, but since he had always been buggers at it the mere mention of the game made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He didn't like the feeling of not having solid ground underneath his feet, though sometimes he wondered if it was because of his 'condition'. After all, he had never seen a wolf enjoy a nice ride on a broom.

When the subject turned to Valentine cards Remus opened his robe to get his out of his pocket. He placed his hands in his lap, fingers caressing the card as he read the text again.

He felt a giddy smile tug at his lips when he got to the end. 'Love, S', who could it be?

He swiped his thumb over the drawn book but then he saw another set of fingers reach down and grab the card, pulling it away from Remus' loose grip and taking it from him.

Remus snapped his head around to see who the card-stealer was. He came face to face with a very smug looking Sirius that had proceeded to hold the card out from him, at an arm's length and as far away from Remus as he could.

Remus frowned at him. Why did he have to be such an irritating twat all the time?

"Give it back Sirius." Remus growled, furrowing his eyebrows at him.

"What, this?" Sirius teased as he waved the card in the air. He wore a mischievous grin and his eyes almost shone from how excited he was.

Remus grunted. Did Sirius really think it was so hilarious to make fun of Remus?

"Yes, that. Give it back!" Remus nostrils were flaring now, so upset was he by the fact that his precious card had been taken away from him.

"Hmm, let me see... No." Sirius sang as he placed the card between his index and middle finger, waving it even further away from Remus.

"Give," Remus reached for the card with his left hand, but only grabbed air. "It," He leaned as much forward he could without falling off the couch. "Back!" With his left arm reached out he made to stand up from the couch, but felt his body being pushed back down by Sirius' free hand.

Remus glared at him. He was really tired of whatever games Sirius was playing. He just wanted his card back.

Sirius however did not look even remotely sorry from where he was proudly smirking above Remus.

"I won't give it back unless you give me a kiss on the cheek." Sirius declared, mischievous smile changing into a smug smirk as he pointed at his right cheek.

Remus' eyes widened at the request. He felt heat reach his cheeks when he thought about what he was asking. Was he being serious?

"Sod off, Sirius." Remus growled, trying to uphold his irritated act and cover his reddening cheeks and pounding heart. He turned his gaze to stare at his lap.

"Come on, just one little peck and then I'll give your card back." Sirius teased.

"In your dreams." Remus mumbled as he crossed his arms. He would not humiliate himself by kissing Sirius on his bloody cheek in front of the entire damn common room. He felt the anger rise up in him again. He couldn't understand what he'd done to make Sirius tease him like this.

"Just one itty bitty tiny little peck." Sirius sang when Remus stayed quiet.

"No." Remus glared at his knees. His new plan to get the card back was to be as boring as possible and wait until Sirius lost interest and gave the card back by himself.

"No?" Sirius sounded almost disappointed from where he sat next to Remus on the couch. Daring a glance up Remus saw Sirius' eyebrows turned into a frown. He saw Sirius slowly lower his outreached hand, lowering his guard. Remus immediately saw his chance to retrieve the card and ceased the opportunity.

Before Sirius had time to react Remus launched himself off the couch. He had reached out his left hand and was just about to grab the card when he felt Sirius move his hand backwards.

Remus grabbed a handful of air instead of the card as he fell forward, landing on top of Sirius on the sofa.

With no time to waste Remus climbed up Sirius' body until he was within reaching distance to the card, reached out at grabbed it with his left hand. He felt Sirius open his hand, making it easier for Remus to retrieve the card.

With the card back in his hand Remus felt himself sigh in relief. Without thinking he slumped down, only to be surprised by the huff he heard coming from underneath him. That's when he remembered that he was positioned on top of Sirius.

He quickly crawled off him and sat up on the far edge of the couch. He hoped that Sirius wasn't going to see how red his face was, or hear how loud his heart was thumping. Sweet Merlin, Sirius was going to be the death of him one day.

He flattened out the card some before he placed it back in its pocket. Then he proceeded to stare at his hands that clenched and unclenched in his lap. He jerked when he heard Sirius clear his voice next to him, he hadn't noticed him sitting back up and positioning himself next to Remus on the edge of the couch.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Remus jerked at the spot. Sure, he was planning on scolding Sirius' for making fun of him like that, but he didn't expect Sirius to apologize. He never apologized.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I took your card from you, and I'm sorry for not giving it back to you." He looked genuinely sorry, but Remus had to be sure. Turning his head to the side he looked over at Sirius and came face to face with his well-known puppy-dog-eyes. Remus' eyes widened at the scene. No one did them as good as Sirius.

"I'm sorry." Sirius pleaded and pouted. Remus wanted to be angry for a while longer but the swelling affection for the other boy grew in his chest and Remus ended up frowning and smiling at the same time, torn between staying angry or forgiving Sirius for his foolish behavior that, just for the record, made no sense.

"Well, okay." Remus stated slowly. "But don't do it again, okay?" Sirius nodded his head fervently. Remus thought Sirius resemblance a dog that had just been scolded by its master.

Remus turned his gaze away from Sirius' eyes to look around the room for Lily when he spotted James staring at him. James quickly turned his gaze away, probably feeling busted as he was caught staring, but Remus could still see the very visible smirk on his lips.

Remus frowned. First Sirius acted really off-character, took his beloved card and teased him to kiss him on his cheek. Then Remus caught James staring at them, looking very proud with himself while smirking. What was going on?

Remus turned his gaze to look at Peter that looked just as confused as he felt. Remus and Peter shared a confused look before they both shrugged. Sometimes they just had to cope with whatever weird things that James and Sirius was going on about.

Remus reached for a chocolate frog, unwrapped it and checked the card. Albus Dumbledore. Bugger, he already had twelve of those.

After he'd discarded the card (he gave it to Peter) he leaned down on the couch and bit down on the sweet chocolate.

~

The Great Hall looked even more beautiful in the darkness of the night. The floating candles had been charmed to shine in light pink that reflected on the great walls all around them, and the tables had been decorated with red heart-shaped candles as well.

Remus looked at the decorations all around them when they sat down in his usual seat by the Gryffindor table for dinner. Within a couple of minutes Professor Dumbledore welcomed them and declared the feast started.

Remus, that was feeling very hungry, rejoiced in the many dishes that covered the table in front of him. When he was full the remains of the main course exchanged into desserts and Remus managed to press down some of the delicious chocolate cake.

When Remus, James, Sirius and Peter were all full Dumbledore called the feast closed. The students in the Great Hall slowly made their retreat back to their common rooms, yawning or clapping themselves on their stomach.

After James made a funny remark about how Slughorn was so full he was probably going to roll back to his office the four boys rose from their seats and started walking back to their dorm. Remus stretched his limbs as they walked next to the Gryffindor table, looking forward for the long nap he had planned to take when they reached the dorm.

James and Sirius walked in front of Remus and Peter that were chatting about the upcoming weekend. Peter told him Remus was planning to bring Dorcas to the Quidditch match, while Remus told Peter that he was planning to read a classic book called 'Treasure Island'.

Remus chatted with Peter some more but then he haltered down to a stop. They were in the middle of the Entrance Hall when James and Sirius stopped walking in front of them.

Remus walked up to them and was just about to ask them why they'd stopped when he saw it. Or; he saw _her_.

Sophie McLennon came running towards Sirius, seemingly out of nowhere but probably from the direction of the Hufflepuff common room.

She ran up to Sirius and then looked at him, lips parted and panting. Remus couldn't help the grimace that spread across his face. She really looked terrible, all round edges and curves.

"Hi Sirius, did you get my cards?" She beamed while batting her eyelashes at Sirius. Remus felt a strong possessiveness churn in his chest. He hated having to watch her trying to seduce Sirius.

"Eh," Sirius started while giving her an irritated look. She relished in his attention and squeezed her arms together, making her cleavage visible in the neckline of her shirt. Eugh, Remus felt like he had to vomit.

"I don't think so." Sirius lied. "I kinda got a lot of cards, so..." He trailed off, looking bothered about the subject.

"Oh, but it doesn't matter, the cards can't express what I feel for you anyway!" She chirped.

Sirius gave her a look that shifted from confused and repelled. "Wha-" He started but was interrupted when Sophie rushed forward and captured Sirius' lips with hers in a moist kiss. She clung onto him with a firm grip as Sirius voiced a muffled 'mmh!!'

"Oh!" James shouted in surprise as he jerked on the spot.

Peter squeaked something, looking equally surprised about the kiss.

Remus however could literally hear his heart break. His mouth fell open and he dropped his bag on the floor. He stared baffled at the scene in front of him, but had to tore his gaze away when he felt tears burning in his eyes.

He quickly fled the scene and rushed to the stairs, climbing two steps at a time as he desperately tried to make a distance to Sirius, Sophie and the remains of his broken heart that lay on the floor the middle of the Entrance Hall.

His chest _hurt_ from the pain he felt when he thought back on the memory of Sirius being kissed by Sophie. Of Sirius being kissed by someone else.

This was the proof he had been waiting for. Proof that Sirius liked Sophie back, if the way he kissed her back was anything to go by. Or perhaps he might not exactly have kissed her back, but he didn't really push her away either, Remus concluded.

He shook his head, trying to erase the picture that replayed in front of his eyes. He fervently wiped away the tears that streamed down his face with his sleeves, but they just wouldn't stop pouring.

Somehow Remus managed to make his way through the portrait whole, common room and the four flights of stairs up to their dorm. When he was inside he ran to his bed and drew the curtains around him. Then he flung himself down on it and pressed his face into his pillow.

He let out all of his pent up nervousness, frustration and worry as he wailed into the soft fabric of his pillow. He cried and cried, wetting the pillow case so much that he had to turn it over.

Then he started screaming into it. Suddenly he found himself letting it all out. From the sorrow he felt from his broken heart to the helplessness he felt over having fallen for Sirius.

He curled into a ball before he screamed into the pillow again. He felt like shit, and probably looked like it too with his eyes swollen and hair a mess. But he didn't care. Suddenly he didn't care about anything anymore. He felt numb.

He had blamed himself for falling for Sirius. He had blamed himself for never being able to compete with the many girls that fought for his attention as well. But now he didn't blame himself anymore. He blamed the world.

He blamed the universe, the stars, the earth, the Moon, Hogwarts, the Shrieking Shack, the Whomping Willow, Dumbledore, Slughorn, McGonagall, Snape, Lily, James, Peter, Sirius - hell even James' owl Snow.

His overwhelming sadness soon turned into anger. He curled his right hand into a fist and punched at his mattress. After a couple of hits he felt that he needed more, so he grabbed his pillow and placed it in between his hands and then ripped it apart. He felt a satisfied shiver run down his spine when he heard the 'ritch' coming from the fabric.

Feathers from the stuffing flew around everywhere but he didn't care. With a mad glint in his eyes he reached for his other pillow and tore that one into two as well. Then he ripped the pieces to shreds, turning all of his fury to the poor pillows.

His breath was ragged when he let go of the shreds and looked around the bed for something else to destroy. Before he had time to rethink his decision he reached out and grabbed a fistful of his curtains and _pulled_.

They fell down from its hangers and fell to the floor. Remus immediately went out on it, ripping it into smaller and smaller pieces. He rejoiced in the powerful feeling of destroying things, the repeating movements keeping his mind busy from overthinking and thus distracting him from the immense pain he felt in his chest.

But when both of his pillows, his curtains and now the mat in their dorm were ripped into pieces Remus felt the high of his fury leave him. Instead he was left sitting on a mess of a bed, a piece of the mat clutched in his hand as the creeping sorrow and panic came back to him.

With a loud cry he took one of Peter's pillows and slumped back down on his bed. He curled into a ball as he pressed his face into the borrowed pillow. He felt a new set of tears burn underneath his eyelids and let them out, wetting the new pillow in the process.

He was just about to shout something foul into the pillow when he heard the door being swung open. After a low "By Merlin's hairy balls," he heard the door being swung shut again.

"Wow, what happened here?" He heard the person voice under his breath. Remus pressed his face tighter into the pillow when he recognized the voice as James's.

He felt his bed dip beside him and realized that James must have sat down on it. He got his theory approved when he felt a warm hand land on his shoulder that shook from his second crying fit.

"Remus..."James started, obviously a bit awkward with the comforting.

When Remus only sobbed into his pillow some more James started stroking his back.

"Remus I don't know why you got so upset, but I'm sure it'll be alright. Like always, okay?" His voice was gentle, coming out as a low whispers as his hands swiped up and down Remus' back. But Remus didn't feel like it would be alright. In fact he felt hopeless, worthless and like total shit when he recalled the scene he had witnessed back in the Entrance Hall. And something told him that that wouldn't be the first time he would have to watch Sirius be kissed or kiss someone else.

He felt the overpowering frustration return with new fervor. Now he was angry at Sirius. How could Sirius do that to him?

He knew that it was wrong to direct his anger at Sirius. It wasn't his fault that Remus had developed such strong feeling for him. But in that moment Remus didn't care, so he gripped the pillow tighter and screamed into it again.

He felt the hand on his back quickly retread when James heard his scream. Remus heard him clear his throat, obviously either feeling very awkward or confused by Remus' uncharacteristic behavior.

Usually Remus was marvelous at dealing with problems, feelings or just obstacles in general. Perhaps it was something that came with having to turn into a raging beast once a month and hide the secret in fear of his life since he was about six years old.

The point is that Remus didn't break. He was tougher than most people his age, never letting a problem affect him to the point that it might hurt him. Thus, he was known for always being able to stay calm, never allowing himself to get too upset.

And that's why James was taken off guard. He didn't know what to do.

"Remus..." He tried again, voice more pleading this time.

"Can't you tell me what it is...?" He raised his voice, trying to make his voice hearable over the loud muffled cries coming from Remus.

"It's so unfair!" Remus suddenly screamed into the pillow.

That got James' attention, because if Remus losing his control was unusual Remus' opening up about his feelings was even more odd. James had only seen it one time before, back in second year when they found out about his secret.

"What is?" James watched as Remus gripped the pillow with one hand and threw it over James' head to hit the wall on the opposite side of the room.

With wide eyes James watched as Remus sat up next to him with swollen eyes and messed up hair. There were small pieces of fabric and feathers in his messy fringe but James let them be as Remus suddenly reached his hands out to grab at his hair.

"He'll never love me back!" Remus shouted, voice hoarse from all the shouting. He shrieked and started stomping on the ground as he tore at his hair.

James was first too stunned to process what he was saying. He had never seen Remus this upset before. He looked to be launching a full blown tantrum.

"What?" James blurted, taking his eyes away from the frustrated person next to him in favor of staring at the dorm door. However, what he heard next would snap his attention back to meet Remus' eyes.

"Can't you see? I'm in love with Sirius!" Remus' voice broke at the end and a new set of tears ran down his cheeks. "I'm in love with Sirius..." He repeated in a hoarse whisper before his sobs took over again.

Before Remus covered his eyes with his hands James got a glimpse of Remus' amber eyes. They were filled with such a desperate sorrow that James had to gasp.

Remus almost doubled over by the painful ache he felt in his chest. He felt done. So done that he had accidentally revealed his secret to James. James that was like a brother to Sirius. He was probably going to tell Sirius all about it as soon as he walked out of the dorm.

Remus felt his panic rise again when he thought about Sirius finding out. His worst nightmares consisted of Sirius finding out and rejecting him, telling him that he was disgusting or something equally bad.

Remus suddenly turned around the bed to glance at their window. Perhaps it would be better if he just jumped. Then he wouldn't have to witness Sirius wander off with any more girls. He would never have to think about his painful, unwanted feelings for Sirius anymore. They were useless anyway since Sirius would never love him back.

But just as he made to stand up from his bed he felt a warm hand grip around his wrist. Remus snapped his head up and came face to face with a very peculiar looking James.

Remus frowned and narrowed his eyes at him.

James looked almost like he was hiding a smile. He stared into Remus' eyes with such fervor that was almost impossible.

James gave in to the smile that soon turned into a mischievous grin. He looked a mixture of proud and like he knew something Remus didn't. Like he knew one of the greatest secrets on earth. Remus got immensely curious.

"What is it? Am I that funny to look at?" Remus snapped his arm back from James' grip and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, ehm, it's nothing I swear." James didn't look very convincing from where he was shaking from suppressed laughter, his face turning a weird shade of red.

Remus glared at him, now starting to feel offended.

"What?" Remus spat, having a hard time believing that James' would think his crisis was so hilarious he would start laughing.

"No- nothing." James gave in to the chuckled. "It's nothing, I swear Moony. And it's going to be alright. Trust me." James nodded to himself before he launched himself on Remus, giving him an uncomfortable tight hug.

Not knowing whether he wanted to return the hug or not Remus simply sat still. Though he thought it was kind of nice to know that James tried to comfort him, and that he had his back.

Remus didn't know what James odd I-know-something-you-don't-and-it's-hilarious-look meant, but James presence still made Remus feel his bad mood slowly retreat.

When Remus felt James tighten the hug further Remus started to feel thankful. James was a good friend and instead of being repulsed by Remus' tantrum he felt the need to help.

Sighing Remus wrapped his own arms around James. After a minute he felt the last bit of his anger and sorrow leave him and he felt James lose his grip around him.

Before James made to stand he placed his right hand on Remus' shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Looking into his eyes Remus saw that James expression had changed into a determined one, with just a hint of pleading.

"Listen to me Moony. It's going to be alright." He nodded to himself again, but Remus didn't agree. How could he be so sure of that? And wasn't he going to ask him about his confession? Didn't he find it the least bit strange that one of his best mates had just blurted out that he loved his other best mate?

"What do you mean by that?" Remus frowned at him. He wanted an explanation.

"I can't explain, I just know that it will." He smiled at Remus. "You just have to trust me Moony." He winked with his right eye as he stood up from the bed.

Remus hesitated but then he asked the question he was burning to know. He had to know if James stood by his side or not.

"Don't you think it's strange? I mean... I just told you that I loved Sirius..." He trailed off, staring at James' face to be able to catch even the slightest sign of disgust.

"No, of course not! Or I mean, ehm, sure, I'm very shocked right now but it's _fine_. You have my blessing, or whatever." He waved his hand in the air as his smile widened into a grin. Remus wasn't sure, but he didn't think James looked shocked at all. But before he had time to ask James if he'd already figured it out James grabbed his wrist and yanked him up from the messy bed.

"Want to help me cleaning this up?" James flashed him a happy grin.

Remus stared at the mess in front of them. Pieces of the mat lay on the oddest places in the room. Some of it was thrown on James' bed, a piece was floating in Peter's glass on his nightstand and some of the threads had rained down on Sirius' bed. Remus gulped as he let his eyes wander around the room.

Around their feet were the threads of his curtains, and next to them feathers and ripped fabric from his two pillows. The pillow he'd borrowed from Peter lay on the floor, wet from his tears and now dirty from the floor. For a second Remus wondered if they'd apparated into the Shrieking Shack, but then he remembered that they was far too young for that.

"The perks of sharing a dorm with a werewolf, ey?" James chuckled before he reached for his wand.

Remus felt his cheeks heat up from a mixture of embarrassment and shame as he reached for his own wand as well.

"Reparo!"

Together they managed to repair the two pillow covers, stuff back the feathers, repair the curtains and hung them back and cleaning and drying Peter's pillow. Remus' bed was almost back as normal, but they still had the mat left.

Remus walked over to Peter's nightstand and lowered his fingers into the glass, fishing up the piece of the mat he'd seen there. James was on his knees, gathering pieces of the mat from under his bed. Remus frowned at that. How had pieced of the mat got under James' bed?

When they'd gathered every last piece of the mat from all around their dorm they piled them into a heap in the middle of the floor. Together they aimed their wands at the heap before they uttered a loud 'Reparo'.

The pieces flew together and the mat went back into its original square shape. Though, when it was done Remus saw that a patch was still missing in one of the corners. He turned his head to the side and saw that James was frowning at the patch. Then he watched as James took of his left shoe, yanked his sock off and then placed the sock over the patch.

Remus was just going to ask him about it when he saw James transfigure his sock to blend into the mat and thus cover the patch.

"That's it. Almost as good as new." James grinned at the mat, looking quite proud of himself.

"Thanks for the help." Remus said. He actually felt really grateful. Without James there to help he probably wouldn't had even bothered trying to fix the mess. Or, well, if James hadn't been there the whole _room_ would probably have been wrecked by now.

"Don't worry about it." James turned his attention to Remus while jumping on one leg. After smiling at Remus' reassuringly he jumped back to his own bed to dig up a new pair of socks from his trunk.

As Remus stared at James' figure he felt the exhaustion from a day's worth of lessons, fights and tantrums finally get to him. He stumbled on the spot and began making his way back to his bed. But then he heard a set of loud voices coming from just outside their dorm and he froze. He recognized those voices. It was Sirius and Peter.

Remus rushed the last steps to his bed just as he heard the door knob turn.

"Night James!" He shouted before he with a heavily pounding heart drew his curtains shut and hid underneath his bedsheets.

Sweet Merlin, he made it.

Sighing he reached for his wand and said a quick silencing charm. Then he proceeded to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling.

He wasn't ready to face Sirius yet. Not when the picture of him and Sophie still tormented him as soon as he closed his eyes. It almost seemed to be burned into the back of his eyelids.

Also, he didn't want Sirius to see him like this. Eyes red and swollen, cheeks stained with tears, hair all messed up and - Remus lifted his hand to look at it - with blood stained on his fingers. Looking closer Remus realized that he must have bruised himself during his rage fit earlier.

Not wanting to leave the bed he cleaned his hands with a cleaning charm and then put his wand back to lay at his nightstand.

His mind was running, busy replaying the many events of the day. It felt like more than just a couple of hours ago that he'd fought back to Rosier and his gang. And it felt even longer since he'd received the card from his mysterious admirer.

Remus glanced down and realized that he still wore his school uniform. He didn't bother changing into his pajamas, he was too tired. Instead he opened his robe and reached for his inner pocket. He brought out the card and then ran his fingers over the dawn book on it. He read the card again and felt himself smile when he got to the end. 'Love, S'. Yes, he really loved one person whose name started with an S. And even though it probably wasn't true Remus liked to imagine Sirius being his secret admirer. At least he could imagine, he didn't hurt anyone by it. Or well, only himself.

His heart did an uncomfortable clench again as he let his mind wander to Sirius. Sirius that he loved so much. Sirius that got letters from almost every girl at Hogwarts.

Remus sighed in awe as he placed the card back into his pocket.

It was probably only about 8 PM but since he didn't want to leave his bed and have to face Sirius Remus decided that he would try to get some sleep. He barely slept at all the night before anyway, so a couple of hours of extra sleep would only do him good.

He removed his robe, shoes, trousers, tie, vest and shirt and folded them. Then he placed them on the floor before he crawled back under his bedsheets. He made himself comfortable, but nothing seemed to ease the aching pain that still lingered in his chest.

When he'd positioned himself into his usual sleeping position he closed his eyes and tried to calm his pounding heart. It didn't help that he knew that Sirius was just outside the curtains, probably talking about Remus and his odd behavior.

Though it had been a long, tiring day, so after a couple of minutes Remus felt the sleep crawl up on him and he fell into darkness.


	9. Day six - part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day six has three parts, it got too long when devided into two. 
> 
> Hope you like this chapter!

**_Day six_ **

Remus snapped his eyes open, panting heavily.

"It was only a dream, only a dream..." He mumbled to himself, trying to calm down his racing heart.

He threw the sweaty sheets off of him while sitting up. He had had an awful nightmare about Sirius. They had been in the Great Hall when suddenly girls from all around them made a line and walked up them, grabbing Sirius by his shoulders and then proceeded kiss him right on the lips.

The nightmare had been very detailed; Remus could still hear the small gasps and moans that came from Sirius that welcomed girl after girl to kiss him.

Towards the end of the dream Sirius sat next to him by the Gryffindor table with one girl straddling each of his things, kissing them every other seconds as he kept eye contact with Remus.

He had woken up when he saw Sirius' lower his hands on the girls' backs.

Remus wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, trying to calm down. The dream had made him witness one of his greatest fears; the fear of watching Sirius with someone else.

Sighing he realized that the kiss he had seen Sirius share with Sophie was probably the cause of it. He had witnessed Sirius with someone else, felt his heart break and now his brain wanted to torment him some more. Merlin, even his brain was against him.

He reached out his hand to make a gap in his drawn curtains. Through the gap he saw that the dorm was still pitch black and he could hear swift snoozing and snoring coming from his friends' beds. He closed the gap and fell back on his bed.

He felt the rush leave him as he controlled his breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, he repeated for himself until his heart was beating at a normal pace again. But he noticed that the aching pain in his chest still lingered. It had nothing to do with the dream, he realized.

The aching pain had to do with the fact that he feared to face Sirius again. He was terrified of what Sirius was going to do. Of what Sirius was going to tell or ask him.

Remus didn't want to lie, but if Sirius were to ask him why he fled the scene yesterday he would feel the need to.

It would be even worse if Sirius told him that he and Sophie were and item now. That might just make Remus scream, though whether it would be in agony or anger he didn't know.

Shaking his head Remus tried to get rid of the fear. He could deal with that in the morning, now he had to get back to sleep.

He drew his fingers through his sweaty hair before he leaned on his side and closed his eyes.

~

Remus yawned from where he sat on his bed. He stretched his limbs, hearing a satisfying crack from his back while doing so.

He brought his shirt from the pile on the floor and put it on before he parted his curtains and stepped outside. His eyes immediately snapped over to James' bed where he was stretching. Right, upcoming Quidditch match, Remus remembered. James played chaser and had to get ready.

"Morning Moony!" He sang, too happy for Remus' taste.

"Morning." He murmured, looking around to see what time it was. He spotted the clock on Peter's nightstand and saw that it was around 9AM. So he had got a long night's sleep after all. That explained why he felt like he'd been asleep for the last hundred years or so.

He yawned into his hand while making his way over to their shared bathroom.

"We alright mate?"

Remus stopped walking, glancing at James over his shoulder. James gave Remus a kind but questioning smile. His eyes blinked at him underneath his glasses.

"Of course Prongs." Remus smiled back. The gratitude he felt for James the day before returned with more fervor as he turned his head back to stare at their bathroom door.

James had his back. He wouldn't spread his feeling for Sirius around, and he didn't blame him for getting so upset either. He understood and supported Remus' decisions. He supported Remus' for what and who he was and that realization eased the pain in Remus' chest and instead replaced it with a swelling affection. James was too good for him. He was too helping and reassuring.

Suddenly Remus thought it was a pity that that was a side of him he only ever let his friends see. According to the rest of the school James Potter was only an arrogant, selfish, cocky bastard that pranked Slytherins with his equally arrogant, pureblood friend/brother Sirius Black.

Remus shook his head when he realized that if James only displayed his 'good traits' some more he would have Lily swooning over him in a second. She lived for when others showed signs of maturity or respect.

Lost in thought Remus opened the door knob and walked inside the bathroom. He walked towards the showers, mumbling something about Lily and James when he felt himself gasp.

Looking up from the tiles he saw Sirius wrap a towel around his hips, having just finished showering if his steaming skin was anything to go by.

He stared at Sirius' wet, dark locks as they fell on his shoulders. He took in the wonderful sight of his defined muscles along his back and then felt his eyes nearly plop out of their sockets when his eyes took in the curve of Sirius' ass, barely covered underneath the thin fabric of the towel.

Remus slapped a hand over his mouth, preventing himself from moaning at the bare sight.

Sirius was finishing up in one of the shower stalls, about two meters from the door Remus was standing in. When Sirius looked like he was about to exit Remus reluctantly tore his gaze away, turned around in the door and as quickly and quiet he could ran back out. He ran all the way back to his bed and had just time to threw himself on it before he heard Sirius walk out from the bathroom.

During Remus' marsh from the bathroom he hadn't missed James' expression from where he was still stretching on his bed.

James had looked at Remus' bright red face, then at the hand clasped over his mouth. But James' expression when he had lowered his gaze to land at Remus' briefs was one of a kind.

First his eyes had widened, and then his lips had turned into a grin only to comply his wicked stare. He didn't stop his mad staring until he saw Sirius exit the bathroom, or at least Remus thought so. He didn't know for sure since he lay with his head buried in his pillow, waiting for Sirius to pass by, tricking him into thinking he's still asleep.

Remus heard James snicker from his bed and wanted to hit him when he heard him laughing. Peter piped a confused 'What's so funny?' but James didn't answer him.

Remus buried his steaming face deeper in his pillow while waiting for his naughty member to calm the hell down. After just one look at Sirius' half naked body it had perked, and was now screaming for Remus(or, preferably Sirius) to touch it.

Remus grunted as he tried to make himself more comfortable from where he lay spread out on the top of his bed. His curtains were open so turning around would mean showing off his proud erection to his friends. Or more precisely, to Sirius.

And even though his prick twitched from just the mere thought of Sirius looking at it he wasn't going to turn around, or release the pressure for that matter. So he lay as still as he could, feeling very awkward while waiting for the erection to go down.

He felt his body tense in fear when he heard approaching footsteps. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that James was walking towards him, smug grin on his lips. Remus sighed in relief. At least it wasn't Sirius.

James sat down next to him and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

"Did you see Padfoot in the shower or something?" He chuckled.

"Sod off." Remus face burned even more.

"Come on, I'm only teasing you." He joked as he leaned back.

"What do you want?" Remus started to get irritated. Couldn't James leave him alone to feel awkward by himself?

"I thought I'd help you." James smiled at Remus smugly. Remus frowned but wanted to know what he had to say.

"I'll distract Padfoot and Wormy in about one minute. Then you can take your stuff and run off to the showers again, okay?" A mischievous glint was visible in his eyes.

Realization of the offer dawned on Remus and he felt himself smile, feeling a bit mischievous himself.

"You want to be my, like, partner in crime?" He asked in a hushed whisper, eyes never leaving James'.

"I can't just leave a friend in need like that, and I told you it would be alright, didn't I? Of course I'll help you out if I see you're in trouble." He babbled in a hushed whisper as he looked up to keep an eye on Sirius and Peter, making sure they weren't listening.

"Okay, sure." Remus nodded, urging him on to get on with the mission. James winked at him before he got up from the bed and slowly made his way over to their friends.

"Padfoot! Wormtail!" He heard James sing before he flung himself on them.

Remus dared a glance over his shoulder, waiting for the signal. When he saw James push them both to the ground while shouting 'Let's fight!' he ceased the opportunity, jumped off the bed, got a set of fresh clothes from his trunk and then run off towards the bathroom.

He thought he heard a set of loud 'No!', 'Stop it' and 'Let go of me!' just before he closed the door shut behind him.

Panting from exhilaration he leaned his back against the door.

Feeling his heart rate return to normal he walked to the shower stalls, left his pile of clothes on the floor close to the door and started undressing. He felt himself gasp when the fabric of his briefs rubbed against his erection, but he didn't have enough time to take care of it. He only had a small amount of time before they had to leave for breakfast, so he had to hurry.

So that's why Remus glanced down at his naked member with a heavy sigh. He stepped into the shower and turned on the water. And even though he hated it he settled the temperature at ice cold.

With chattering teeth he saw his prick return to normal, before he turned the water back to normal.

~

After finishing up in the shower Remus got dressed into his fresh set of clothes. When he had combed his hair and brushed his teeth he felt a great deal more awake than before, and he left the bathroom. Then he walking over to his bed to gather the things he would need for the day in his bag.

"What happened yesterday?" Peter asked, suddenly standing next to Remus.

Remus jerked, Peter's sudden proximity had scared him.

"What?" He blurted.

"What happened yesterday, when you ran off in the Entrance Hall?" Peter looked a mixture between curious and concerned.

"Ehh..." Remus trailed off, his chest aching with panic. He did not want to think about that when he finally had begun putting it behind him. It belonged to the past now.

"Nothing!" James shouted from where he was stretching on their mat.

"But-" Peter turned his attention to James but was interrupted.

"I said nothing Pete. Nothing happened, so just drop it already, okay?" James tone was stern and left to room for questions. Peter's look of curiosity turned into one of disappointment when he nodded at James.

Remus knew it wasn't fair of them to make Peter feel left out of something like that but he still didn't want his secret to spread more than it had to. Plus, James had proved that Remus could trust him. Remus wasn't sure he trusted Peter that way yet.

Remus turned his attention to the window. Glancing outside he saw that it was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the grounds around Hogwarts were frozen but not wet. It was a brilliant day for a Quidditch match.

"Remus."

Remus snapped his head to the side, trying to locate the source of the sound when he saw Sirius walking towards him, now fully clad but hair still damp from the shower. Remus gulped when he saw that Sirius' hair had resulted in a wet spot over his left collarbone, leaving the shirt see-through.

"Yes?" He croaked. He awkwardly cleared his throat before he spoke again. "What is it?"

Sirius stopped walking and looked Remus in the eyes. He looked concerned.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." He started.

Remus felt his cheeks heat up. What was he talking about? Why was _he_ sorry?

"W-what do you mean?" Remus mentally slapped himself for stuttering, but Sirius didn't seem to mind.

"I think I did something that upset you yesterday, and I just want you to know that I'm really sorry about it. Honestly. I never meant to hurt you, and never want to hurt you again. Alright?"

Remus felt his cheeks burn even more after that declaration. What was he saying all of a sudden?

"If it has anything do to with how Sophie acted yesterday I can tell you that she literally attacked me, and I had to try and wrestle her off me for the next twenty minutes or something. She just didn't let me go so at the end I have to forcefully push her away." Sirius made an uncomfortable grimace.

"When she tried to jump me again, not being able to take a hint, James helped me fend her off. I ended up shouting to her that I didn't like her very much. Or more like, I accidentally told her that she stinks and that the sorting hat probably made a mistake when it put her in Hufflepuff, since she's just as slimy as the Slytherins."

Remus hid a chuckle with his palm. He immediately felt the choking pain in his chest disappear, instead being replaced by a comfortable warmth that spread throughout his body. He could almost jump in happiness when he realized that he'd got it all wrong. Sirius didn't like Sophie, he despised her!

"I'm sorry if I upset you somehow." Sirius reached out to pat Remus' shoulder. "Are we okay?"

Remus glanced up and looked Sirius deeply into his eyes. He wondered if his eyes expressed the relieved happiness he felt because as soon as their eyes met Sirius' entire face lit up.

"We're okay." Remus smiled at Sirius. He felt almost giddy with relief, joy and excitement when he saw Sirius smile wide into a grin. Sirius' eyes sparkled and Remus couldn't stop the happy grin that spread his lips as well.

I still have a chance, he thought. I still have a chance to make Sirius like me back.

"Are you coming?" James shouted from the direction of the door.

When he reluctantly tore his gaze away from Sirius' eyes to look at James Remus saw that James and Peter were waiting for them in the doorway. James almost bounced on the spot from excitement and from the way he was staring at Remus and Sirius Remus wondered if his reason for happiness was the upcoming Quidditch game or the exchange between Remus and Sirius.

Remus made his first step in James' direction when he felt Sirius swing his left arm over his shoulders.

Remus felt his entire body heat up from the feel of having Sirius so close to him. He gulped when he turned his head to the side to look at him. He was met by a grinning Sirius that looked way too happy this early in the day. But his smile was contagious; soon Remus found himself grinning as well.

"Finally," Peter huffed when they made it to the door.

The four boys walked out into the stair landing, closed the door behind them and then made their way to the Great Hall for a late breakfast.

~

"Mmm! I love pancakes!" James hummed, almost vibrating with excitement. He had changed into his Quidditch uniform earlier and was now gaining approving looks and whistles from the other students at the Gryffindor table. Remus even though he had seen McGonagall give him a wide smile when she passed, but the moment was gone too fast for him to be sure.

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Peter reached for the last plate of pancakes before James had time to snatch them for himself.

Remus chuckled to himself. It was amusing to watch his friends bicker about the food, which was good because they bickered almost every morning.

"Aren't you going to eat any pancakes?" Sirius asked from where he sat on his usual spot next him, munching on a pancake.

"No, I'm fine thank you. As long as there's bacon and eggs I'll eat that." Remus stated, lifting a piece of bacon on his fork to his mouth, but lowering it again when he saw Sirius' eyes trailing his fork. He cleared his throat to which Sirius shook his head and turned his attention back to Remus.

"Is it true?" Sirius leaned on his elbows as he munched on a piece of a pancake.

"Is what true?" Remus asked while playing with his scrambled eggs. He didn't know how to feel about Sirius staring at him for so long. His body felt all funny and he didn't know what do to with his limbs.

"Oh sorry," Sirius swallowed. "I mean, James told me that you totally wrecked our dorm yesterday with your bare hands, so… is it true?" He asked simply, like he asked about the weather or something equally normal. Remus frowned. Should he tell him the truth?

"Eh..." He started.

"So it's true then?" Sirius immediately bounced up on his chair. "That's wicked!" He laughed, eyes gleaming with mad excitement.

Remus felt his cheeks burn again. "What do you mean? Wicked, like evil?" He asked, voice uncertain.

"No, Moooony! Wicked like, totally, super cool! Awesome!" He grinned at Remus madly before he reached out and took his hand in between both of his.

Remus felt his heart skip a beat. Sirius had just told him he thought he was cool.

"Y-you think?" His voice cracked a bit at the end.

"Duh!" Sirius rolled his eyes. "But I always think you're cool: you're badass!" He continued. Remus felt his entire face heat up when Sirius' shouting gathered the attention of the other occupants sitting by the Gryffindor table.

Sirius let go of Remus' hand and instead lifted his right hand to ruffle Remus' hair. He laughed when Remus tried to pry his hand away while mumbling 'stop it', but secretly Remus loved the feeling of Sirius' warm fingers scraping his scalp. He felt a comfortable shiver run down his spine, but then tensed and hoped that Sirius hadn't felt it as well.

Sirius didn't let go of his hair so Remus lifted his hands and placed them on Sirius chest to push him away. While pushing Sirius' away from him he tried not to think of how good Sirius' muscles felt under his thin shirt, or think about how he felt sparks of excitement shoot through his body when he touched Sirius.

When Sirius finally let go of his hair Remus tried to flatten it while giving Sirius a grumpy look. But he was the opposite to grumpy. In fact, he was using up his last bit of willpower to hide the huge grin that threatened to spread on his face.

He grabbed his fork to eat his last piece of bacon when he saw Sirius lean in close to his ear. He jerked at the spot when he felt Sirius' breath ghost over his ear.

"And just so you know, I think it's really cool that you're a _werewolf_." He  whispered, dragging out the word 'werewolf' so much that he was simply blowing air into Remus' ear at the letter 'f'. Remus felt a powerful shiver run down his spine and had to bite his lip and grab the table not to moan at the sensation.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm down his racing heart. It pounded almost painfully in his chest. Opening his eyes and glancing down Remus saw that his fingers had left marks on the table. Damn his werewolf strength.

"You alright over there Moony?" He heard Peter ask, but he didn't look up to meet his eyes. He knew that Peter was staring at the marks he'd just made in the table.

"Never been better." Remus lied, but it silenced Peter.

After taking a nice set of deep breaths Remus heartrate had returned to normal, so he reached for his fork again, but then he felt something brush past his stomach. He opened his mouth in surprise but then erupted into a loud laughter.

"Ahh ah ha ha ha!" He cried, closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"S-stop i-it!" He managed in between chuckles.

"You like that Moony?" Sirius teased, adding another hand to his stomach, tickling him with great fervor.

"Ahh!" Remus shouted, tears running down his cheeks. "Ha ha ha!" It wasn't the least bit funny. It was awful, and bloody awkward. He bet about a hundred couple of eyes were staring at them it that moment. Though he was too busy being tickled to open his eyes and check out.

"Ha, ha, st-stop-p i-i-it!" He cried again, wriggling around on his seat like mad. He almost fell off his chair a couple of times but he guessed Sirius steadied him on his back or something. Bloody bastard wouldn't let him fall so that he could get the tickling over with.

"Stop!" He shouted one last time, ready to faint from the extent he was laughing. But the hand didn't stop, they tickled him even more, moving from his stomach to his sides.

"Hi hi hi." Remus heard himself giggle when Sirius reached his most sensitive spot around his waist. Merlin, could he get any more embarrassing?

Remus heard Sirius laugh, although mostly covered by his loud shrieks. With great effort Remus reached out one of his hands and waved it around blindly in the air before it met with Sirius' stomach. When it'd found its goal he bend his fingers and started tickling Sirius back.

With a relieved sigh Remus felt the hands on his body stop and retreat to wrap around Sirius' stomach as he wriggled around in his seat.

"Ah ha ha, o-okay! I'll s-stop!" He laughed as tears started running down his cheeks as well.

Remus considered that offer for a second but decided to tickle Sirius some more.

"Ahh, ahh!" Sirius cried and it was hilarious. Remus soon found himself laughing at how funny Sirius looked, wriggling and laughing under his hand.

When Sirius' face had turned red and his cheeks were stained by tears Remus finally released Sirius' stomach. He saw Sirius give him a crooked smile while panting from all the laughing.

Remus felt his heart rate speed up and body respond to Sirius' panting and quickly turned his gaze away to stare at his plate. He wiped away his stained cheeks with the end of his sleeve.

"You got me there." Sirius chuckled when he finally stopped panting.

"It served you right." Remus gave in to the smile that spread his lips. "I didn't know you were that ticklish."

"There's many things you don't know about me." Sirius said in a low voice that got Remus' attention. He snapped his head to the side and felt his eyes almost plop out of their sockets when Sirius looked him in the eyes and _winked_.

Remus lowered his gaze when he saw Sirius bite his lip. Remus felt a spark of arousal shot straight to his groin and without thinking about it his lips parted and he started panting.

Remus looked back into Sirius' eyes and he thought he saw something in them shift. He gazed into Sirius' wonderful grey orbs and felt himself sink into them. He absentmindedly saw Sirius' wet his lips and he leaned in a bit closer. The air around them seemed to change, and it was like they expressed something to each other. It was almost as if they stood on the breach of something. Something entirely new, but wonderful.

Remus got lost in the magical moment. He stared deeply into Sirius' eyes and tried to express his feeling to him with only a look.

But the moment was gone almost instantly as an extremely annoying voice interrupted them.

"Oh come on you two, stop it already!" James sang while ruffling his hair in a nonchalant manner. "You're acting like little kids or something. I mean, if you want to feel each other up just say so. Ticking got old about ten years ago."

Remus and Sirius quickly snapped their heads forward to look at James who stared at them with a smug grin.

James looked Remus in the eyes and gave him a wink. Then he looked into Sirius' eyes and gave him a wink.

Remus opened his mouth to ask him what he was going on about when he saw other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walk up to James and high five him.

James rose up from his seat to greet his teammates before he looked over his shoulder to speak to his red-faced friends.

"You coming?" He asked them, motioning in the direction of the Quidditch pitch with his hand. "You too Wormy." He added, looking down at Peter that hurriedly pressed down a pancake in his mouth.

"Yes," Peter answered, voice muffled by the pancake as he stood up from the table to follow James.

Remus and Sirius slowly stood up as well. Remus turned his eyes to the floor, not daring a glance at Sirius.

Why had James said that? Did he want Sirius to find out about his crush on him?

Remus shook his head. Sometimes he didn't understand James, but perhaps he had meant something by his odd actions. James had said that he would help him, so perhaps the awkward speak back there had been a part of his plan? Remus didn't know, but he wondered.

As Remus joined the group consisting of his friends and James' team members they started walking out of the Great Hall. Remus let his mind wander along the way and thought it felt nice to share his secret with someone, but that he would prefer if James didn't hint it every half hour or so. A secret was meant to be kept after all.

~

The group walked to the Quidditch pitch and into the dressing rooms.

It was about half an hour until the game started so they could see the many students of Hogwarts making their way toward the pitch though the windows of the locker room.

Remus glanced up from the ground he had been staring at in favor of taking in his surroundings. On his left side in front of him was a long bench that seemed to go on forever. Next to the bench were a couple of lockers. To his right was a broom closet and door that led to the showers. Glued or charmed to all the walls were pictures of famous Quidditch teams and players from all around the world. Remus' couldn't remember the name of any of the players but he recognized a team called the Holyhead Harpies. James had a couple of magazines with loads of pictures of them.

Remus eyes turned to the team captain that had opened one of the lockers to bring his extra Quidditch supplies. Remus remembered him as being the keeper. James was one of the chasers.

Lost in thought as he was he didn't think twice when he saw James walk up next to him. Though, he walked very close to him...

Suddenly he felt more than saw James lean in and push him hard with his side.

"Ow!" Remus shrieked as he fell, but he didn't land on the floor. In the same second as he started to fall he felt strong arms wrap around him, protecting him from the painful collision with the floor.

"Ouff," Sirius huffed when his body fell on the floor. He held onto Remus with a strong grip, not letting go even after the fall. Remus felt his heart rate speed up when his nostrils filled with the wonderful scent that was Sirius.

"I got you." Sirius mumbled into Remus' hair.

He was tightly pressed into Sirius' chest, and suddenly he didn't mind about the fact that James had pushed him. He found himself getting more than a bit comfortable in Sirius' embrace. He felt safe and protected as he snuggled in some more, trying to dig himself deeper into the warm embrace.

Al though, the embrace ended sooner than Remus would have preferred. Sirius sat them up on the floor and then rose up and reached his hand out to help Remus stand as well. After brushing off some dust from his robe Sirius turned his attention to James who had been watching them.

"Sorry." James said, not looking the least bit sorry. In fact he was snickering.

"What did you do that for?" Sirius asked him, placing his hands on his hips.

"Sorry, an accident." James shrugged as a smug smirk spread on his lips.

Remus narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked.

"Yep, sorry didn't mean to walk into you." James blinked at him as another snicker shook his body. Remus didn't think pushing someone on purpose could be considered as walking into someone by mistake, but he realized that James wasn't going to give them a better explanation so he dropped the subject.

"Okay. But don't do it again." Remus scolded him before he turned around to face Sirius.

"You want to get out of here? I guess about half of the school's out on the stands already."

"Yeah, sure." Sirius nodded at him, his angry grimace turning into a fond smile before they walked out of the locker room.


	10. Day six - part two

**_Day six - part two_ **

 

After fetching Peter they made their way out of the locker room, shouting reassuring words to James and the others along the way. Right before they left Remus thought he had heard Sirius utter a threatening 'Win or you'll regret it' to the team members, making some of the younger ones look afraid. But he was right. Gryffindor had to win, or they wouldn't hear the end of it. Gryffindor had to win this match with at least 120 points if they still wanted a chance to win the cup.

Remus, Sirius and Peter walked up the Gryffindor stands and started looking for a good placed to sit at. They wanted a good view of the pitch, so any seats behind tall seventh years were out of question.

When Remus spotted Lily with her group of friends standing in the third row he motioned for Sirius and Peter to follow him. He walked up to Lily and after a quick greeting they decided to stay and watch the match with them. Though when Remus looked closer at whom Lily's friends were he began regretting his decision.

Next to Lily stood Dorcas, Mary, Marlene and Alice. Remus visibly rolled his eyes. But then he started to look around him fervently, trying to find other free seats away from her friends. Though, his effort was useless as they had already seen them.

"Hi Sirius." Mary batted her eyelashes at Sirius and elbowed her way past her friends to get closer to him.

Merlin, was she planning on attack-kissing Sirius as well?

"Hi Mary." Sirius nodded his head to her but turned his gaze to the pitch again. Mary frowned and started elbowing her way past Remus, but he reached his arm out and stopped her.

"What are you doing?" She glared at Remus while she tried to push through his arm. Remus mentally chuckled. At times like this his strength really came in handy.

"Get out of my way." Remus whispered in a sweet voice.

"W-what?" She looked taken off guard and glanced over her shoulder to ask her friends for help, but none of them were looking their way.

"I said, get out of my way." He gave her a small smile.

She frowned at him before her face changed into an angry grimace.

"No, you get out of my way! I'm going to talk to Sirius, just move already!" Her angry shriek got the attention of both friend groups, but Remus didn't turn his out stretched arm away.

"Can't you see that this seat is taken?" He motioned for the empty seat behind him with his free hand. "If you want to speak to Sirius you need to find a way around because I'm not moving." He gave her a look over with a look that screamed for her to back off from his Sirius.

"No, move!" She lifted both of her hands and tried to pry Remus' out stretched arm away but it didn't even flinch. She started huffing irritated words when Remus got enough.

With his free hand he gripped one of her wrists and held it with a tight grip, shaking it slightly to get her attention. When he angrily stared into his eyes he narrowed his eyes and gave her a death glare.

The strong possessiveness he felt for Sirius welled up in him and he let it consume him. He didn't want anyone else to get near Sirius. Didn't want anyone to steal him from him again. He felt the wolf within howl approvingly when he saw her flinch in fear when he accidentally let out a warning growl.

She shrieked and started tugged her arm, trying to free it from Remus' strong grip. But he felt himself get lost to the wolf. Instead of letting her free he tightened his grip some more and clenched his jaw. He felt his eyes turn feral when suddenly he saw her as prey.

But just as he was about to hurt her more he felt a warm hand land on his shoulder.

"Calm down Remus." Sirius voice was stern but gentle.

Remus snapped back to reality as the wolf returned to its place at the very far back of his mind. He shook his head and let go of Mary's wrist that had started shaking. Glancing up he saw that Lily patted Mary on her back while sending Remus a concerned glance every other second.

Remus felt his face burn from shame.

"Sorry, I-I don't know what happened..." He trailed off, not being able to meet either Mary or Lily's eyes. He heard Mary whisper something that sounded a lot like 'inhuman' to Lily and he felt his heart ache in fear. He had lost control again.

With a sigh he sat down on his seat and covered his face with his hands.

He suspected that the reason that he easily lost control to the wolf was because his strong emotions for Sirius easily blended with the wolves. He guessed that it thought of Sirius as a pack member, and even though it was all very complicated he also suspected that when the wolf thought someone was threatening his pack it lashed out, making Remus a mere pupped for it.

Remus let out another sigh. There were just too many backsides to being a werewolf. It wasn't just turning into a beast once a month. Sometimes he felt the rage consume him, blinding him with fury until it was all he felt.   
He was always afraid of succumbing to the wolf, letting it turn him into something he's not. And that's why he felt himself start shaking from where he sat on his seat. He was so, so afraid of how easy it was for him to lose control. And he was afraid of what Sirius' continued presence might make him do if he didn't find a way to deal with his unwanted feelings for him. It wasn't just Remus anymore. The wolf felt possessive for Sirius as well. And that he couldn't control.

"Moony?"

Remus lowered his hands to lie in his lap. He slowly glanced to his side and came face to face with Sirius that immediately reached forward and took Remus' both hands in his with a firm grip.

"Moony, are you okay?" He asked with a small frown, worried smile on his lips.

"Yes, terrific." Remus lied. Oh, how he hated that question.

"Come on, you want me to believe that?" He smiled at Remus and squeezed his hands. "You can be honest with me. After all, I'm serious." He winked at Remus that felt a small smile tug at his lips. Sirius was really silly, but knew exactly what to say to lift Remus' mood.

"Okay, okay. Perhaps I'm not terrific. But it is what it is." He frowned at Sirius. He felt his anxiety return when he thought about the fact that his whole life would be haunted by his 'issue'.

"And 'it' sucks?" Sirius wriggled his eyebrows at him, trying to make him laugh.

"Yes it sucks. In fact it sucks more than Merlin's bloody, fucking, damn, hairy ass." He spat but stopped frowning when he saw Sirius' expression.

Sirius' eyes had widened, his grin was crooked and he stared at Remus like he'd just said the most incredible thing in the world.

"Moony..." He said, voice thick of disbelief.

"Didn't know I could fucking swear?" Remus lifted one eyebrow at him but felt himself smile when he saw how Sirius' entire face light up.

"No! Or I mean, I knew you could but, you know…" Sirius stared at him baffled with a happy grin on his face.

"No I don't?" Remus grinned back at him now. He felt his mood turn back to normal and the anxiety disappear when Sirius was looking at him like he was the most incredible thing in the world.

"Can you say that word again?" Sirius suddenly asked, almost vibrating from excitement. Remus thought he looked like an excited puppy. The only thing missing was the wagging tail.

"What word? Fuck? Damn? Bloody? Fucking? Remus had to hid a chuckle when he saw Sirius' eyes widen even more, jaw falling open in shock.

"Could you say the f-word again?" Sirius asked after clearing his throat. Remus lifted one of his eyebrows at him again. Was this some kind of weird kind or something? Or was he just surprised by how many swear words Remus could speak? Or did he just tease Remus to see how far he could go before Remus scolded him? He didn't know but with nothing better to do as he tried to avoid Lily's friends he complied to the request.

"Fuck. Fucking fuck fuck. Fucking fucking fucking fuck." Remus spoke seriously, like he was having a normal conversation with someone. "Fuck fuck fuck. Enough?" He gave Sirius a quizzed look.

"Yeah." Sirius nodded at him, grinning madly.

"Okay. So what was that about?" Remus was curious.

"Uh, nothing." Sirius gave him a nervous smile before he gulped audibly. Remus traced his Adam's apple as it bobbed up and down felt hit groin respond eagerly.  

He quickly turned his gaze back to Sirius' eyes, hoping he couldn't see the small sheen of sweat that was building on his forehead.

Remus made a move to reach his arm to wipe his forehead when he remembered that both of his hands were occupied by Sirius'. When he focused his attention to his hands he realized that his palms were sweaty. He mentally scolded himself for being a nervous-sweater but then he thought that the sweat might come from Sirius.

Curious he lowered his gaze to stare at their hands and that's when he realized that they were positioned in his lap. In his lap, alarmingly close to a certain body part that now perked when it realized that Sirius' hands were so close by.

Remus bit his lip as he felt another pang of arousal hit him. It was not easy to hold hands with your secret love when you're a hormonal teenager.

Remus felt Sirius give his hands a squeeze before he started stroking the over side of Remus' hands with his thumbs. At that, Remus felt a powerful shiver run down his spine and he had to close his eyes, desperately trying not to moan.

His heart was racing, body hot, skin sweaty and breath getting ragged when he dived into the sensation of Sirius' rubbing the over side of his hands. He started to wonder what it would feel like to have Sirius' hands on other parts of his body, if him stroking the mere over side of his hand felt this good…

Absentmindedly Remus spread his legs. He opened his eyes and looked in front of him with glazed eyes. Merlin, one part of him wanted to grab Sirius and make out with him right there, but another part of him wanted to smack Sirius' hands away, scold him for making him lose focus.

Not being able to decide Remus simply sat still and enjoyed the sensation.

However, when he felt one of Sirius' thumbs wander up to trace the inside of his wrist he had to close his eyes again. He felt his lips part and legs spread some more. He didn't know if Sirius knew what he was doing. He didn't know if Sirius was even looking at him, perhaps he only let his hands wander by themselves, but Remus didn't care. Sirius' thumb was positively magical from where it delivered shiver after shiver on his wrist.

The air was thick and his clothes too tight from where he sat. He desperately tried to hold back any signs of his pleasure but when he felt Sirius' thumb trace a bit higher he accidentally let out a small moan.

Immediately he realized his mistake and snapped his eyes open. He coughed to try and cover up his unintentional moan and felt Sirius' let go of his hands in favor of patting him on his back.

"Moony, are you sick?" Sirius asked looking concerned. Though if Remus was being honest he thought he saw a light pink tint his cheeks. And didn't his eyes look a bit different?

But Remus didn't get to finish his investigation of Sirius' odd expression since they heard a loud voice bellow around the Quidditch pitch.

Remus stopped fake-coughing, nodded reassuringly at Sirius and then turned his attention to the field. He saw that the two teams had lined up already, with Professor Hilly standing between them with a whistle in her left hand.

He turned his gaze to the teacher's stand and swiped his gaze over the many faces of his different teachers. He saw a very intense looking Professor McGonagall scold a red-cheeked Professor Slughorn from where they sat next to each other. Next to them he spotted Hagrid taking up four seats by himself and blocking the view for the ones behind him. Hagrid has chuckling and patting Professor Gimmly on his back, making him almost falling out of his seat.

In the seat next to him sat no less than Headmaster Dumbledore himself. He wore a beautiful set of deep red robes, probably because he cheered on his old house Gryffindor. According to the rule book teachers weren't supposed to choose a team to cheer on, but Remus suspected that no one would dare to question Dumbledore for his choice of attire. It was only clothes after all.

Remus's gaze lingered on Dumbledore some more. He watched as the old man clasped his hands in his lap and turned his head to the side to speak with one or two members of his staff. When Dumbledore lifted his hands to scratch his beard Remus finally turned his gaze away to look at something else.

He was desperately trying to turn his attention to something that would distract him from the alarming pressure he felt in his pants. He mentally scolded himself for getting so excited by Sirius' mere _hand_ , but the damage was already done.

His gaze settled for the pitch again just as the team captains walked forward to shake hands. Remus thought the Gryffindor team captain's grip nearly crushed the Ravenclaw's hand, but he wasn't sure.

He watched as they walked back to their teammates and then as all members sat up on their brooms. He saw James wave in his direction and waved back when he saw Sirius and Peter do the same. James looked like he was going to burst from happiness, he really loved Quidditch.

Watching James Remus remembered hearing him telling them that he was going to try out for as the team's seeker the next term. And since two beaters and the seeker were leaving Hogwarts after the holidays Sirius was planning on tying out as well, but as a beater. He had said something about ceasing an opportunity to smash Slytherin heads with bludger's, without getting punished for it.

Professor Hilly whistled before she bellowed "Let the game begin!"

The players lifted from the ground as they flew to their positions and the game was on. Remus turned his full attention to the game, not daring a glance back at Sirius, afraid of not being able to control himself, and not daring at glance in Lily's direction either, too afraid to meet the death glares of her friends.

He watched as they released the quaffle, bludgers and the golden snitch. He saw James trail it longingly with his eyes, but he had to wait another six months before he would get to try out as a seeker so he turned his attention back to the game.

Remus watched as James took the quaffle, flew over to the Ravenclaw side and made the first goal in one of the three hooped goals.

"Yeah!" The crowd all around Remus shouted as they rose up from their seats. Looking around he saw that many of his fellow Gryffindor's jumping up and down, or were clapping their hands like mad.

When Remus felt Sirius tug at his arm Remus stood up as well.

"Wohoo..!" Remus was very happy and proud of James achievement, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't the cheering kind.

"WOOHOO!" Remus slammed his hands to cover his ears when Sirius shouted in his ear.

"Ow," Remus groaned before he sat down again. He remembered why he preferred the games when Gryffindor wasn't playing; during the games when James was on the field Sirius tended to scream in his ear every other second or so.

"JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO, JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO!" Sirius cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted. Soon Peter and half of the Gryffindor stands had joined in as well. Remus pressed his hands harder to his ears, face screwing in a grimace. He really hated his heightened senses right then.

A couple of the older students managed to cast a 'sonorus' so now the mantra echoed out over the field, gathering James' attention in the process. He leaned back on his broom and waved to the crowd while wearing his most cocky grin. Before he leaned back he blew a kiss in Lily' direction, and daring a glance her way Remus saw her stomp the ground looking very frustrated. 'Arrogant bastard,' she muttered under her breath before Remus turned his attention back to the game. He watched as the seekers trailed the snitch but then lost sight of it again. Then he watched as Ravenclaw made two goals, gaining cheers from their and the Slytherin stands.

Sirius grumbled something sounding irritated next to Remus. He turned to talk to Peter to exchange a couple of bad words about the Ravenclaws.

Remus watched as one of the Ravenclaw chasers scored another goal. He felt an uneasiness creep up on him. Gryffindor had to win with over 120 points of they wanted even a chance of the Quidditch cup. He frowned when he watched another chaser from Ravenclaw score.

"40-10 To Ravenclaw!" the commentator bellowed out.

"Damn," Sirius swore under his breath as he alternated between talking shit with Peter and glare at the players that flew around high above them.

"Excuse me." I girly voice suddenly spoke right next to Remus. Turning his head he came face to face with Dorcas. She looked a mixture between determined and irritated from where she leaned on her hip.

"Mhm?" Remus raised his eyebrows at her. What did she want?

"Could you perhaps let me through? I want to talk to Peter." A light blush tinted her cheeks.

"Oh, sure." Remus shrugged and folded his legs to lay pressed to his chest when she walked past him.

"Thanks," She sang before she brushed past Sirius and then captured Peter in a tight hug. Peter laughed and then leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her cheek. Remus' eyes nearly plopped out of his sockets. Wow, he thought, he had never expected Peter to hit it off with Dorcas in just a couple of days.

"Tch," A girly voice snorted. Turning his head to the side he saw that Mary had placed herself in the spot Dorcas just left.

"What?" Remus bit back, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. He didn't like to bicker or fight, but by the look of it that was exactly what Mary wanted.

"Oh, I don't know," She glared at him. "I just find it a bit odd that when Dorcas wanted to walk over to Peter you moved out of the way but when I wanted to talk to Sirius you wouldn't let me." She narrowed his eyes at him.

"Oh. Ehm, that's because..." Remus trailed off as he felt his heart pound nervously in his chest. He didn't know what to say; after all he couldn't just bluntly tell her that he wanted her to fuck off and never exchange a word with Sirius again. He wasn't going to tell her about how possessive he could get in only a matter of seconds. Perhaps it wasn't fair of him to claim Sirius as his like that, but he couldn't help it. The wolf made him do it.

But just as he was going to give her some made up excuse about how Sirius had told him he didn't want to talk to girls on their annual friends-day the crowd around them all stood up and erupted in a deafening cheer.

"JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO! JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO!"

Yelping Remus pressed his hands over his ears again. The loud screams made his eyes water from pain so he closed them.

"POTT-ER, POTT-ER, POTT-ER!"

Remus opened his eyes and glanced up at Sirius. He felt his jaw drop when he saw Sirius stand with his wand pointed at his throat, apparently having mastered a sonorus.

"WHO DO WE WANT?" He bellowed.

"JAMES POTTER!" The crowd around him cheered.

"WHO DO WE NEED?" His voice echoed around the arena.

"JAMES POTTER!" The Gryffindor stands vibrated from the jumps, stomps and shouts from the joyful students.

When Sirius stopped the sonorus Remus felt it safe to let go of his bleeding ears. He stood up and looked up in the air above them where he found James flexing his muscles, flirting with the crowd. Remus slammed his hand over his forehead. Merlin, James was too embarrassing.

Daring a glance to his side Remus saw that Mary had walked back to her safe spot behind Lily. He gave a sigh of relief. He really didn't like to be cornered like that, especially not since he was so bad at making up excuses.

With his eyes on the game he watched as the two other Gryffindor chasers scored points for their house. The team members ducked bludgers that the beaters shot at them while scoring.

It stood 50-50 when Remus saw the Gryffindor seeker tilt her broom dangerously, flying through the air with her right arm reached out. In a matter of seconds she clasped her hand over the golden snitch and the game was over. Gryffindor had won - 200-50 - and since they won with over 120 points they still had a chance at the Quidditch cup.

"Yes!" Remus couldn't help the outburst of happiness when he watched James do somersaults in the air. The stands threatened to fall from the ruckus the Gryffindors were making. People danced, jumped and hugged each other in euphoria, their happiness uncontrollable.

"GRY-FFIN-DOR, GRY-FFIN-DOR!" People all around him cheered from where they jumped around laughing.

Suddenly Remus felt a strong set of arms wrap around him in a tight hug. He immediately recognized the arms belonging to Sirius. He smiled and lifted his own arms to return the hug when he felt himself getting lift up in the air and then swirled around in a circle.

"Ahh!" He screamed and tightened his grip around Sirius' shoulders who laughed in return.

"Ahh! Let me down!" Remus swatted his hands on Sirius' back, but Sirius only kept spinning them around even faster.

Remus closed his eyes and stopped his swatting in favor of holding tightly onto Sirius. He felt a loud laughter build up from within and unintentionally he let slip a chuckle.

"You like that Moony?" Sirius teased before his own voice got lost in a series of loud chuckles.

"Stop, ha ha, it!" Remus chuckled, tightening his grip around Sirius' shoulders.

He felt Sirius finally halt down to a stop and he eased his grip around Remus and leaned back. He met Remus' eyes with a brilliant smile. Remus felt his breath hitch when he gazed into those eyes. They expressed so many emotions Remus suddenly felt the need to sit down, but before he even got the chance to let go of Sirius' shoulders Sirius leaned in again to capture him in another hug.

Remus startled but then relaxed into it. Even though it was the middle of February Sirius radiated heat, making Remus shuffle even closer to him. He felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter approvingly when Sirius lifted one of his hands to swipe up and down his back.

Remus let his head fall to Sirius' shoulder as he breathed in the wonderful scent of his expensive shampoo. He felt dizzy with a mixture of comfort and excitement when Sirius leaned his head on his shoulder. Remus suppressed a shiver when he felt Sirius' breath ghost over the spot behind his ear.

The hug was warm, wonderful and made Remus feel safe. The loud cheers from the stands muted and soon the only thing that existed was the good feeling he got from the hug.

"Hello? Are you even listening?"

Remus snapped back to reality when Peter's irritated voice broke though the magical moment.

With an annoyed huff Remus reluctantly broke the hug and turned his attention to Peter, who he saw stood hand in hand with Dorcas that gave Remus a disapproving look. Remus narrowed his eyes at her. He absolutely hated it when people looked at him like that.

"What were you saying?" Sirius brushed back his fringe while giving Peter a bored look. Remus wondered how he could look like that right after their hug. If Remus looked even remotely similar to how he felt he was sure that his own face was flushed scarlet by now.

"We're going to greet the team in the locker room. You coming?" Peter gave them a desperate look and Remus realized that Dorcas had probably asked Peter if they couldn't take a look in the locker rooms. Suddenly Remus hoped that she hadn't just used Peter as a way to get in touch with the famous members of Gryffindor's Quidditch team.

"Sure." Sirius flung his arm over Remus' shoulders.

Remus tried to tell his heart to calm the hell down as he let himself be led from the stands, back down to the ground.

The group walked to the door to the Gryffindor locker room to fetch James, but when they walked inside they walked straight into some weird sort of victory dance.

Two of the members jumped around on the bench, the seeker jumped up and down at the spot and the rest of the team members, including James, danced around, giving each other high fives and approving pat on the backs every other second or so.

Someone had charmed some sort of muggle device to play loud music to which they danced to. Remus' didn't recognize the song but by the looks of the wild dancing the song was a good one.

Remus cleared his throat which gathered the attention of the seeker girl. She sent a glance Remus' way but then immediately turned her attention back to bounce up and down the floor like some weird dance move. Remus frowned at her. He didn't like the noise and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Prongs!" He shouted after another loud clearing of his voice.

"You need a mint or something?" Dorcas snickered at him but stopped when he sent a threatening glare her way.

"Prongs!" Sirius shouted this time and that got his attention. James looked up from the temporary dance floor to meet Sirius' gaze. He lifted his hand in a wave before he made his way towards them.

"We won!" James shouted as he aimed Sirius a high five.

"We know, we were there." Remus answered him sounding grumpy.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Dorcas drag Peter into the circle of Quidditch players. She looked like she had just found her pile of presents the morning of Christmas Day.

"We won!" James repeated. Sirius patted him on his back before he started forcing James out of the locker room.

Remus, Sirius and James slowly made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, not waiting for Peter to tag along. All the way James spoke about the game, of how he had scored, almost got hit by a bludger twice and about how he had seen McGonagall jump out of her seat in happiness when Gryffindor scored.

He went along with his chatting all through lunch and then spoke some more as they made their way to the common room. When they passed other students in the hallways many reached out their arms to aim a pat on James' back or punch his arm approvingly. By the time they reached the portrait whole James' confidence had grown immensely.

As soon as they walked through the portrait whole the common room erupted in a loud cheer.

"JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO, JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO!" They shouted louder than ever. James bowed, cocky grin on his lips.

"Thank you, thank you." He winked at every girl in the room, including Lily that sat in the far right corner looking very angry, before he lifted his hand and ruffled his already messy hair.

The students cheered and cheered and Remus wanted to scream from the pain he felt in his ears. Merlin, did they have to shout like that?

While annoyingly muttering swear words he lifted his hands to rub at his ears. He thought he heard Sirius chuckle from behind him but wasn't sure, he might as well have gone deaf by now.

Remus and Sirius followed James to their usual spots in the comfortable sofas. Remus slumped down on his seat with a relieved sigh. His butt hurt from having to sit on an uncomfortable seat all morning.

Sirius let out a huff when he slumped down next to him. James sat down in front of Remus and within a couple of seconds the empty seats around him had filled with curious students that wanted to hear all about the Quidditch match.

Remus groaned and lifted his arm to cover his eyes. He didn't fancy the idea of having to listen to James telling the same stories for over an hour again.

"Wormy!"

Remus let his arm slide off to his face when he heard Sirius greet Peter that walked over to them, his face a weird shade of red. Remus narrowed his eyes at him.

"What happened?" Remus asked. "You're all red in the face."

That made Peter's face turn even redder and he squeaked as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"Wait... Wormy, I don't believe it! You just got your first snog, didn't you?" Sirius rose from the seat and flung his arms open to wrap Peter in a quick hug.

"You should be proud, you're a man now!" Sirius chuckled as he let Peter go and sat back down. Remus' jaw dropped when he realized what Sirius had said. He looked between Sirius and Peter twice before he spoke.

"Is it true?" He asked Peter that still stared at the floor. "You snogged Dorcas?"

Peter nodded his head, ears now visibly red as well. Remus felt his eyebrows almost hit his hairline from how surprised he felt. Sure, he knew that Peter was a teenage boy just as much as any of them, but for some reason he had always had a hard time picturing short, chubby Peter with a girl. And even more surreal; picturing Peter snogging a girl. Okay, ew. Remus tried to erase the unpleasant pictures that stuck in his head.

"You're a man full of surprises Wormy, I'll give you that." Sirius chuckled. "Go tell Prongs, he'll probably spray his pants from the surprise."

Remus rolled his eyes. Now he was stuck with the picture of Peter snogging Dorcas and James spraying his pants. Ew, he wanted to wash out his brain.

Within a couple of seconds James surprised "What! Wormy- I, you lucky bastard!" shout bellowed within the walls of the crowded common room. Remus groaned. His ears barely had time to recover before the next scream attack.

Though, about thirty minutes later Remus managed to talk his friends into follow him outside. They headed for their usual spot by the Black Lake where they were going to enjoy the last bit of sunshine before the sun set for the day. It was still February so they only got a couple of hours of sunshine a day.

When they reached the beech tree James was still babbling about some details from the game. Remus stomped around in the snow to flatten it out before he sat down across from the tree. He watched as James and Peter sat down and leaned their backs to it. Sirius sat down to Remus' left, closer to the water surface. Sirius knocked on the surface of the frozen lake a couple of times before he turned his attention back to his friends.

Remus took a deep breath of the brisk, cold air that smelled a lot from the Forbidden Forest nearby.

He leaned back and lay down on his back, hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. Around him he could hear his friends talk some more about the game, but Remus soon muted their sounds in favor of focusing on the sky.

The sky was slowly turning darker as the sun was soon to set. There were only a couple of clouds above them, and Remus absentmindedly stated that it would probably be a good night for stargazing, with no clouds in the way. He also realized that is was around New Moon, which meant that the moon wouldn't be out to torment him with its presence either.

"I know! We should have a party to celebrate the win!" James loud voice suddenly bellowed, snapping Remus back to reality.

"Yeah, that would be brilliant!" Sirius agreed excitedly.

"I'm in!" Peter added.

"Of course you're in Wormy, do you want another go with Dorcas or not?" Sirius teased and Remus could almost hear Peter blush.

With some shuffle Remus sat back up, brushed some snow off his back and looked over at his friends that were all staring at him expectantly. As usual they waited for his approval of the plan. It often worked that way; James or Sirius came up with a plan or prank and then expectantly waited for Remus to agree on it, telling him that they needed his help. After all, many times it was Remus' master mind that was behind some of the most brilliant pranks. They needed him, and when Remus turned his gaze from Sirius, to Peter to settle on James he sighed. Of course he would help them. He always did. It was the least he could do for them, trying to give something back for the great support and friendship he got in return.

"Are you in?" James' asked with a wide grin.

"Sure," Remus shrugged.

Then the four boys started voicing different ideas for the party. The ideas were good, from proposing that they sneaked food from the kitchens to that they were to charm the floor in the common room to resemblance a dance floor, but when James proposed a game of Truth or Dare Remus immediately shot him down.

Pouting James dropped the idea of another game and instead asked if they couldn't fix some music somehow. James decided to ask one of his teammates if he could borrow their strange muggle device that played music in the locker room earlier.

After a while the four boys had come up with a plan: They were going to head to dinner like usual, but as soon as they left the Great Hall they were going to sneak into the kitchen. There they would fill their bags, pockets and arms with different sorts of biscuits, cakes, pastries, muffins, pumpkin juice and try to break into the school's secret supply of butter beer.

"Okay but when do start the party?" James asked.

"I don't know, as soon as we've brought up the snacks?" Sirius picked up some snow and formed it into a ball. Remus quickly turned his attention from Sirius to stare at his pair of feet. He did not want that snowball aimed at him.

"Yeah, perhaps I can ask Sam about the muggle thing at dinner..." James trailed off.

A cold breeze made Remus shiver and he wrapped his arms around him. The sun had almost set now which left the vast grounds around Hogwarts slowly getting darker. It felt like the temperature was dropping as well.

"I'm freezing my ass off. Can we go inside already?" Peter whined.

"Wee, wee, is your pretty little butt cold, Pete-pie?" Sirius teased as he lifted his hands to pinch Peter's cheeks.

"Sod off," Peter replied while flailing his hands in the air, trying to pry Sirius away.

"Actually I think that's a brilliant idea. Come on, it's bloody freezing out here." Remus made to stand up.

"Okay, let's go inside!" Sirius chirped before he jumped up into standing position. Remus frowned at him. Hadn't he just mocked Peter for freezing, but when Remus complained he simply went along with it?

Sirius smiled at him but then turned his attention back at Peter which he gave a small kick on his leg. "Hurry up Wormy."

Peter stared at him, brows furrowed and mouth agape. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm always Sirius." Sirius patted his chest as he chuckling stared down at Peter who had realized his mistake and slapped his hand over his forehead. "Merlin..." Peter voiced under his breath.

"You coming Prongs?" Sirius turned his attention to James who had been muttering to himself, absorbed with the planning of the party.

"Yeah, yeah," He muttered before he stood up. "Coming Wormtail?" He looked at Peter that still sat on the ground, back leaning against the beech tree.

"Sure," Peter seemed to chirp up a bit when James was the one asking him to come along. He stood up and then the four of them headed for the path that led them back to the castle.

~

When they walked into the much warmer Entrance Hall they all let out a sigh of relief. Remus rubbed his hands together before he blew on them, trying to bring them back to life. Looking to his side he saw Sirius and Peter copy him. James had been the only one smart enough to bring a pair of gloves.

With some time to kill before dinner they decided to look around for an empty classroom where they could do some more planning. James led the way through the Hall while the others trailed after him.

"Hey Sirius, wait!" A loud girly voice shrieked from somewhere around them. The group stopped and turned their heads around when Remus spotted a brunette Ravenclaw fifth or sixth year come running towards them.

When she reached their group she lifted her right hand and grabbed Sirius' hand in it. Sirius startled but didn't let go immediately.

"Sirius, do you have a second?" She batted her eyelashes like mad, Remus almost wondered if she'd got something stuck in her eye.

"Ehm," Sirius looked a mixture between confused and bothered by her straightforward behavior.

"Come on, just a second. I swear I'll be quick." She giggled and Remus almost hurled at the spot. When he saw her take a step closer though he felt the possessiveness he felt for Sirius awake. A strong surge of fury filled his chest and he had to curl his hands into fists and bite his lip trying not to lash out. He didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone. He'd slipped up too many times already.

"No, Sirius doesn't have a second, sorry." James butted in. He walked a couple of steps and placed himself between Sirius and Remus.

"What do you mean by that?" She grimaced at James. "And can't you speak for yourself?" She asked Sirius before madly batting her eyelashes again.

"He's right though. I don't have time right now. Sorry," Sirius shrugged but didn't sound the least bit sorry. Not seeming able to take a hint she tightened her grip on his hand and then winked with her right eye.

"Oh come on, playing hard to get with me?" She laughed, trying to flirt.

"No, I just remembered that we're in a bit of a hurry. Sorry, maybe some other time." Sirius tugged his arm back but she didn't let go of the hand. Instead she leaned forward to plant a kiss on Sirius' cheek and that's when Remus felt something inside him snap.

He almost exploded from suppressed anger and his fingernails dug into his palms hard enough to draw blood. He closed eyes as he begged the wolf to calm down. _'Please, calm down, please go away...'_ He mumbled, desperately trying not to lose control again. He could not let Sirius and his admirers affect him this easily.

"Excuse me?"

Remus opened his eyes and saw that James, Peter, Sirius and the girl were all staring at him. And then he realized that he had accidentally voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Is he sick or something?" The girl asked, glancing over James' shoulder at Remus that had clasped his hands over his mouth, face red from embarrassment.

"Uh... yeah! He ate something bad. I think. Poor thing really, yeah. But he'll manage. That's our Remus for ya!" James babbled as he turned his attention back to the girl, covering Remus with his body.

"Okay..." She slowly turned her attention back to Sirius that was still staring at Remus. She tugged at Sirius' hand until she'd got his attention.

"Anyway, are you coming?" She winked at him.

"I already told you no." Sirius voice was determined. With force he yanked her hand off him and took a step back.

"But-" She cried.

"Bye!" Sirius motioned his hands back and forth in the air, shooing her to leave already, and with an offended huff she finally did. She swung her brown hair behind her as she rushed off towards the stairs, probably heading for the Ravenclaw common room.

Remus uncurled his fingers. He felt himself start to relax now that the girl was gone. Merlin, he didn't know how much more of this he could take. Sirius was just too popular, and Remus got too possessive. He didn't like it, of course, but he couldn't help it.

Slowly he felt his anger subside, but it was immediately replaced by a strong feeling of self-hate. Remus clenched his jaw as he took a set of deep breaths. Relax, she's gone, he told himself.

"Moony are you okay?" Sirius asked, pushing James to the side as he walked up to Remus.

"I'm brilliant." He fake-smiled at Sirius but knew he didn't buy it.

"You sure about that?" Sirius gave him a concerned look. Remus knew better than to lie to Sirius, but he just didn't feel like explaining that he'd just fought down another rage fit because of his possessiveness of Sirius. He didn't feel like telling him that the wolf already saw him as its mate.

"Yup, I've never been better." He lied. "Can we start walking again already?" Remus turned his attention to his other friends but stopped when he saw the expression on their faces.

James had that odd look again, like he knew something the others didn't. James' lips quirked as he hid a smile. Whatever he knew was apparently hilarious.

Remus looked over at Peter and was met by a very confused face. Peter's mouth hung agape, brows furrowed and eyes turning flicking Sirius and Remus suspiciously. He looked like he was on to something, and Remus didn't like it.

"Yeah, let's go find that empty classroom or something." Sirius waved his hand in the air to seem nonchalant, but Remus saw the lingering worry in his grey eyes.

"Have I missed something?" Peter suddenly asked, eyes aimed mostly at Remus but switching to Sirius every other second.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, body tensing. Had Peter perhaps connected his odd behavior to his feeling for Sirius?

"I don't know, but it feels like you three know something I don't. Something obvious that's really just spelled out in front of my face but I just can't see it. I don't know but it feels like you're hiding something..." Peter narrowed his eyes at them.

Remus heart skipped a beat out of fear. He and James knew about his secret so he would understand if Peter felt like they hid something for him, but he couldn't understand why Peter would get the feeling that Sirius was hiding something as well. In fact, Sirius was often like an open book most of the time. But then Remus remembered what Sirius had told him earlier. Something along the lines of 'There's many things you don't know about me', did Sirius keep a secret as well?

A silence spread among them. Peter turned around to first stare at James, then Sirius and then back to Remus. Looking to the side Remus thought he saw James and Sirius share a look of panic with each other. Well, that was weird... Remus frowned at James.

James was the only one he shared his big secret with, but now he wondered if Sirius perhaps had shared a secret with James as well.

Remus eyes widened when he realized that that meant that James knew something about Sirius that he didn't. Perhaps he could bribe James into telling him...?

"Hello? Are you going to answer me or not?" Peter sounded almost desperate.

"Yeah, uhm, sorry Wormtail, but we're not hiding anything." Sirius mumbled, but he didn't look Peter in the eyes.

"No, eh, in fact I have no idea what you're talking about," James shrugged, eyes turned to stare up at the ceiling.

"Oh come on! You want me to believe that?" Peter asked Remus that was the only one still looking at him.

"I don't know. Do you?" Remus' face turned into a grimace.

"No! I don't believe that. Merlin, I thought we were marauders. We're not supposed to keep things from each other, or does that only apply to me?" Peter urged.

"No Pete, of course not!" James finally looked at Peter.

"Then why do I feel like you're keeping something from me?" Peter cried.

"I'm sorry if it came out that way, but it's nothing. Nothing important anyway, okay?" James tried when he captured Peter in a hug.

"What do you mean by 'nothing important'?" Peter piped as he tried to free himself from James' grasp.

"Can't explain, you just have to believe me." James looked up to give Remus a wink and Remus realized that he was making up bad excuses to be able to protect his secret. He felt his heart swell with gratitude for James.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Come on, let's go to the empty classroom already." Sirius started walking away before Peter could corner them more. Remus trailed after him immediately and soon heard James and Peter follow them as well.

Remus wiped his sweaty forehead his sleeve. Peter had noticed that he and James (and Sirius but Remus didn't know why) had kept something from him. People often didn't give Peter enough credit but at the end of the day he was a marauder as well. And solving puzzles was part of the job.

Worrying over his secret Remus soon found himself walking into the empty classroom with his friends, ready to waste a couple of hours on planning.


	11. Day six - part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sirius Orion Black, born 3rd November 1959! 
> 
> Posting two chapters today to celebrate our favorite dog star<3

**_Day six - Part three_ **

"Yum! I love roasted chicken!" Peter chirped from where he sat in front of Remus on his usual seat in the Great Hall. The four of them had spent a couple of hours in the classroom planning the party in the beginning, but at the end they had ended up playing hide and seek. James had won, as usual, though the others found it more than a bit unfair that he had an invincibility cloak to hide under.

Now they sat in the Great Hall eating dinner while doing some more planning. James was the most excited, almost vibrating from suppressed exhilaration.

Peter hadn't mentioned the awkward cornering back in the Entrance Hall further, and Remus was immensely relieved. He didn't like the feeling of being cornered, especially not by one of his best mates.

"So can we leave for the kitchen now?" James asked as soon as Remus had emptied his plate. James literally bounced up his seat, not waiting for the others to follow him when Remus nodded in response.

Remus, Sirius and Peter got up from their seats and ran up to James on his way through the doors. When they passed the great stairs Remus felt his stomach do an uncomfortable clench.

Rosier, Avery, Crouch and Snape leaned on the railing with their arms crossed. They snarled viciously at Remus when they passed, but they didn't say anything. Remus, Sirius, James and Peter all glared back at them, Sirius even showed his tongue at them, but they didn't make any attempts on any on them.

Remus felt himself relax again when they reached the end of the Entrance Hall and walked into a corridor. Perhaps his old bullies hadn't tried anything funny since he wasn't alone. Or perhaps they had learned their lesson when Remus fought back, and weren't going to try anything on him again now that they knew what he could do.

Remus wondered why they hadn't run off to Dumbledore like they'd threatened to do, but then he realized that if they'd gone to Dumbledore they would have to give an explanation to what they did alone with Remus in a shady corridor in the first place. Perhaps they'd been afraid of getting expelled as well, thus choosing to stay silent. Remus didn't know but he was relieved by the fact that Dumbledore hadn't called for him yet. And he hoped that Rosier and his gang would stop bothering him now. He didn't think he would be able to hold back if they cornered him again. Not when he'd got to feel what revenge tasted like.

"In here!" James shouted in a hushed whisper. He'd tickled the pear in the painting leading to the hidden entrance to the kitchen.

When they stepped inside they were immediately greeted by a couple of house elves that asked them what they would like to eat or bring with them. Peter, apparently not as full after the recent dinner as he'd told them, started eating biscuits from a tray held up by one of the elves.

James lifted his wand from his pocket and flicked it once in the air before he put it back again. A list of words appeared out of thin air.

Treacle tart, chocolate cake, blueberry muffins... The list went on.

James showed the list to a couple of house elves that started running around the place in search for the different treats.

Fifteen minutes later James, Sirius, Remus and Peter walked out of the kitchen with their bags, pockets and arms filled with snacks, treats and drinks. Sirius had sweet talked one of the house elves into giving them a bunch of butter beers from the secret stash.

Remus had hogged the delicious looking chocolate cake the moment the elves brought it to them. He held it close to his chest, glaring at anyone that came too close to it for his liking. Remus decided that the cake was his reward for helping his friends.

Not wanting to bump into a teacher James picket up the Marauder's Map from his trouser pocket, voiced a low _'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'_ and then searched it for unwanted dots on their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

The minute they walked through the portrait whole the room erupted in a loud cheer.

"JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO! JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO!"

Remus nearly dropped the cake as his hands automatically wanted to fly to his ears. But the chocolate cake was more important than his hearing he decided in that moment as he tightened his grip around it.

James greeted the crowd with a cocky grin before he led his friends to the coffee table by the couches. They dumped the snacks at the table and then started with the last arrangements for the party.

James walked up to Sam to fetch the music playing muggle device, Peter piled up the snacks and drinks on different tables, Sirius transfigured the lightning in the room to change into different colors every other second and Remus asked a seventh year to help him transfigure the stone ground into a reflective dance floor.

In a matter of minutes the Gryffindor common room was ready for the victory party. James turned on the music and the party was on.

Remus watched how a couple of grumpy fifth years fled for the library and how some first years wide eyed fled up to their dorm.

Then he saw Dorcas walk up to Peter out of nowhere and then capture him with a kiss. Remus quickly looked away. Merlin, he did not want to witness that again.

James soon turned into a party animal from where he danced around on the dance floor. He got the other members of the Quidditch team to join him, and then other students joined in as well. The music was loud and Remus wondered how long it would take before a teacher would knock on the portrait whole to find out what all the noise was all about.

Remus walked over to the couches where he sat down on his usual spot. He still hadn't let go of the chocolate cake that he now placed in his lap. He reached for the coffee table and picked up a fork before he leaned back to take his first bite of the cake.

It tasted even better than it looked. It tasted of a rich, dark chocolate that made his taste buds sing with happiness. Feeling greedy he quickly took another bite that was just as delicious as the first one.

"Mmm," He hummed, closed his eyes and took a third bite. He didn't even care about slicing up slices; he ate straight from the middle of the cake, not caring if anyone else wanted a taste since he'd hogged it for himself.

He opened his eyes when he heard approaching footsteps but narrowed them when he saw Mary walk up to the coffee table to fetch a blueberry muffin. She glared at him before she huffed and walked away again.

Remus trailed her with his eyes as he munched on his cake by himself. He watched her join the ones at the dance floor. She moved her hips in a matter Remus suspected would be seducing from side to side, but it only made him nauseous.

He turned his gaze away from her and watched as more people joined the dancing crowd. James was somewhere in the middle of it, only his mess of a hair was visible from where he jumped around. And Sirius had joined as well, probably somewhere in the middle with James.

Remus would guess that about half of the Gryffindor students were on that dance floor. Most of the first and second years was absent and a couple of the fifth years as well, but Remus was still surprised by how many wanted to celebrate their win.

"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!" The dancing mass of students bellowed suddenly, making Remus startle.

"JAMES POTTER IS OUR HERO!" Remus dropped his fork in surprise when he saw a couple of seventh years lift up James that flexed his muscles cockily.

Sighing Remus picked his fork up, placed it on the table and exchanged it for a new one. He'd known James for over three years so he shouldn't fell surprised. He knew that James would do nearly anything for attention.

Remus started eating his cake again. He turned his eyes to the dance floor but then felt his stomach do an uncomfortable clench. On the dance floor he saw Mary walk up to Sirius and ask him for a dance. He felt his heart get stuck in his throat when he saw Sirius nod and start dancing with her.

Remus gulped and turned his gaze back to the cake. Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. In fact, he felt like something big had stuck in his throat that made it hard to swallow.

With a frown he lifted the cake and placed it on the coffee table. He didn't want it anymore. Someone else could have it. (Though, he didn't think anyone would find the missing hole in the middle of it appealing, but he never knew.)

Remus brushed his lap from crumbs before he rose up and walked over to the window. He couldn't stand watching Sirius dance with Mary. He felt sick with jealousy just from thinking about it, so instead he walked over to the far back of the common room that was nearly empty by now.

He leaned his hands on the windowsill and then peered outside. It was a bit difficult to see anything when the blinking lights from the dance floor reflected in the glass every other second or so, but when Remus squinted his eyes he could make out the deep blue night sky and the brightest stars above him.

He felt the ache in his chest ease when he followed the constellation of Cassiopeia with his eyes. The stars always had that effect on him. They always managed to calm him down when he was upset. He didn't know why, but he thought it was calm to know that even though things might change down on the earth the stars would always stay the same.

Remus glanced around on the sky some more, rejoicing in the fact that the moon was absent. He didn't fancy the moon very much, due to obvious reasons.

He felt a hand land on his shoulder and jumped at the spot. He snapped his head back and felt his heart do a painful clench.

It was Sirius.

"Whatcha doing Moony?" He smiled at him but Remus couldn't help but to feel a bit betrayed having seen him dance with Mary.

"Nothing much, was just looking at the stars." Remus shrugged.

"Oh, okay. Fun?" Sirius smiled his crooked grin at him.

"Not really. The light from the dance floor kind of reflected in the glass, but yeah," He trailed off. "Why're you here anyway? Aren't you dancing with Mary?" He crossed his arms. He hated himself for being so jealous.

"Or something. I don't know, I didn't look," Remus added when Sirius gave him a funny look.

"No, or, well, I did, but only for a minute or two. I made some excuse when she wanted to dance closer." Sirius smile faltered.

"You didn't want that?" Remus asked curiously.

"Let's just say that I don't fancy having a girl cling to me like some weird monkey or something." He huffed, trying to make up some sort of excuse. Remus still wondered why Sirius had left the dance floor when he'd got someone to dance with but he didn't press him for more information. Remus actually felt really happy about the fact that Sirius had dumped her in favor of having a chat with him. Selfishly he felt his chest swell proudly. Perhaps that meant that Remus was special to him...

"So do you want to get a better look?" Sirius walked to the windowsill to lean on it. He glanced outside with raised eyebrows.

Remus frowned. "Get a better look at what exactly?

"The stars of course." Sirius turned around to lean his back against the window. He quirked one of his eyebrows and smiled his crooked smile at Remus that felt his heart skip a beat from the beautiful scene in front of him.

Lost in Sirius' perfect smile it took a couple of seconds before Sirius words sunk in.

"O-oh, eh, what?" Remus stuttered when he snapped back to reality.

"Do you want to head out to look at the stars?" Sirius repeated, voice more serious this time. Remus felt his cheeks heat up. It sounded kind of cheesy, like something from one of Lily's muggle romance novels or something. But it was Sirius, so Remus didn't complain.

"Okay, sure." He felt a small smile tug at his lips when Sirius slung an arm over his shoulders.

"Great, I took the Map from James earlier by the way, so now we don't have to worry about getting caught by Filch again." Sirius led them through the commotion in the common room toward the portrait hole. On the way Sirius grabbed two blankets from the couch that he slung over his free arm.

"Good, I don't want to clean Slughorn's entire supply of cauldrons again." Remus huffed. Though, if he was being honest he hadn't minded the detention that much. He'd got to spend some time alone with Sirius after all.

Remus and Sirius sneaked out from the party without telling James or Peter. Though, by the look of it they were too busy doing their own thing to notice anyway.

When they'd walked out of the portrait hole Sirius handed Remus the Map. Remus brought his wand from his robe before he aimed it at the Map and voiced a low but firm _'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'_. Then he tucked his wand away, fingers brushing past the inner pocket with his precious valentine card making him wonder about who his mysterious admirer might be. He glanced up at Sirius and he felt his small hope grew some, but then he remembered that there was perhaps over forty students at Hogwarts whose sur-, middle- or last name begun with an S.

Remus looked at the Map to guide them through the castle without getting caught by wandering teachers or prefects. It was about eight PM so they still had about one hour until curfew, but just to be on the safe side it was good to have the Map. And it might get handy on their way back since didn't know when they would head back in.

They successfully sneaked out of the castle and onto the path that led to their favorite spot by the lake. It was pitch dark outside without the moonlight, the only source of light coming from the windows of the castle. The air was as cold as ice and Remus saw smoke blew out of his mouth when he breathed out. He shuddered from the cold and shuffled closer to Sirius that still had an arm slung over his shoulders.

"Are you cold?" Sirius asked when they'd walked about halfway to the lake.

"It's mid-winter, what do you think?" Remus teeth clattered from the cold.

"Grumpy are we?" Sirius teased before he lifted his hand to ruffle Remus' hair.

"Stop it," Remus complained only halfheartedly, secretly loving the feel of Sirius' hand in his hair.

"Where do you want to sit?" Sirius asked when he lowered his hand back to clasp over Remus' shoulder.

Remus squinted, looking around them. He didn't want to lie totally out in the open in case a teacher would look outside, but he didn't want to be hidden under a tree either. The tree branches might be in the way of the sky after all.

"Hmm..." Remus tucked away the Map in his trouser pocket before he lifted his right hand to rub his chin in thought. "Perhaps over there?" He pointed in front of them.

"By the Whomping Willow?" Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Not _by_ the Whomping Willow, around it." Remus smiled at Sirius' expression. "It's far away from the castle so no one can spot us if they look outside, and there's no trees covering the sky.

"Sound good. After you then," Sirius gave Remus a wink that made his heart skip a beat. Gulping he turned his face forward again.

When they reached the meadow, about forty meters from the wild willow, Sirius let go of Remus' shoulders to grab one of the blankets and place it on the snow covered ground. Remus watched as Sirius grabbed his wand, aimed it at the blanket and muttered a spell.

"To keep it warm." Sirius told him reassuringly before he got time to ask.

He saw Sirius aim his wand at the other blanket and mutter a spell, probably the same, before he tucked his wand away.

"Have a seat." Sirius looked at Remus expectantly, hand motioning at the blanket between them. Remus felt his cheeks heat up. Call him a soft but he thought the scene was quite romantic.

Remus sat down on the left side of the blanket and then Sirius sat down on his right side. Remus was well aware of how close to him Sirius sat down, but realized it might just be to keep the warmth in the cold. But still, Sirius' thigh lay almost pressed against Remus'.

He watched as Sirius spread the other blanket over their legs and then leaned down to lay on his back. He turned his head to the side and smiled at Remus.

"Are going to lie down or what?" He chuckled.

Remus did as he was told and lay down next to Sirius, their shoulders pressing against each other. He felt Sirius lift the blanket to their chins before Sirius shuffled even closer to Remus, the sides of their bodies pressed together. Remus could feel that the charmed blankets were warm against them, but when he felt his entire body heat up almost uncomfortably he wondered if was for the blankets or by the fact that Sirius lay so close to him.

He felt Sirius lean his head to the side so he did the same. He let slip a small gasp when he came almost nose-to-nose with Sirius.

Sirius eyes were dark grey in the darkness, but Remus could see them glistening with something that looked a mixture between happiness and excitement. Or perhaps Remus only saw his own emotions reflect in Sirius' eyes.

Glancing into Sirius' expressive orbs Remus felt his body respond in the most comfortable ways. Everywhere Sirius' body touched his tingled and sent sparks of excitement straight to his heart that pounded almost out of his chest. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Sirius could hear it as well.

He saw Sirius give him a mischievous smile before he turned his attention to the sky.

"This is nice." He said, eyes darting over the many starts above them.

Reluctantly Remus tore his gaze away from Sirius' beautiful profile to have a look at the stars. What he saw took his breath away.

"Wow," He breathed, eyes wide from where he glanced at the hundreds of stars that twinkled above them. The grounds of Hogwarts were vast, but it was nothing compared to the night sky. It seemed to go on forever, and the stars shone brighter than he'd ever seen them before since they had gone so far away from the castle. There were no lights to disturb them.

"It's ... magical." Remus breathed, eyes stuck on the stars above them.

"Yeah," Sirius whispered from where he lay next to him.

Remus jerked when he felt Sirius' hand creep up his right thigh.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to find your hand," Sirius mumbled before he swiped his hand dangerously close to Remus' groin. He bit his lip when he felt the exciting spark of arousal that shot straight to his groin.

Feeling torn between wanting Sirius to go on or for him to retreat his hand already Remus reached out his right arm and helped Sirius guide his hand to his. He felt his cheeks heat up when Sirius threaded their fingers together and laid their entwined hands on the juncture between their thighs.

Remus' face was burning as he desperately tried to tell the butterflies in his stomach to calm down, but he couldn't seem to control his body when Sirius lay pressed to him with their hands clasped together so Remus only gulped and hoped that his reaction to Sirius' close proximity wasn't as obvious as it seemed.

"Do you know any constellations?" He asked Sirius when the silence got too much for him. He could hear his heart pounding his ears and suddenly he wondered if Sirius could feel the steady thumps through their clasped hands.

"I know them all," He gave an ironical chuckle. "My whole family is up there somewhere, and as of pureblood standards I got tutored about the stars almost as soon as I could talk." Sirius huffed, frown apparent in his face.

Remus nodded but stayed silent. Sirius rarely spoke of his childhood so this was a rare opportunity to get to know some more.

"But enough about me, do you know any?" He turned the attention back to Remus that pouted for a while, disappointed that he wouldn't get to know more about Sirius' childhood.

"I know how to spot Canis Major, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but it's only because I remember them from our Astronomy lessons. My parents didn't teach me how to spot them and I think it might have something to do with the fact that the most prominent member of the night sky turns me into a raging beast once a month." Now it was Remus turn to laugh sarcastically.

"Oh, come on," Sirius turned his head to frown at Remus. "Don't kill the mood like that."

"What mood?" Remus lifted one eyebrow as he turned to look Sirius in the face.

Sirius ignored his question and shook his head. "Here's what we'll do. I'll teach you about the star constellations!" He grinned at Remus who was still frowning.

"Why're you so happy?" Remus tried to hide a smile but failed when Sirius' smile widened even more.

"Because it's fun! The fact that my, ehm, not-so-good and your not-so-good past still brought something good with it." He nodded to himself.

"And what's the 'good'?"

"That I get to be the one that teaches you about the star constellations." Sirius explained before he turned his attention back to the sky.

"But-" Remus started but was interrupted.

"Shh, you listen and I'll do the talking now, alright?" Sirius gave Remus' hand a squeeze and that silenced him up.

"Okay, hmm… let's start with something easy… Can you spot big dipper over there?" Sirius lifted his right hand to point up to the left.

"What's a big dipper?" Remus squinted but all he saw was Ursa Major.

"It's the little wagon-tail-thingie of Ursa Major." Sirius explained.

"Oh, okay, ehm, I can see it." Remus felt stupid for not knowing that.

"Okay, now look at the last star of the tail, the one that's most to the left." Sirius instructed. Remus did as he was told and mumbled an 'okay' when he was done.

"Now look even further to the left until you spot the next bright star, there's three stars creating some sort of triangle, can you see it?"

Remus squinted but then he saw the three stars that looked kind of like a triangle. "Yes."

"Good, okay. Now look down from the middle star until you see that really bright twinkling star over there," He pointed at the sky. "Can you see it?"

Remus searched the sky until he found it. "Yes."

"That's Arcturus." Sirius told him.

"Wait, as in Regulus Arcturus Black?" Remus frowned.

"Yeah, I told you my whole family was up there somewhere." He chuckled.

"Anyway, if you connect Arcturus with the triangle stars and with the star to Arcturus' top right you get the star constellation called Bootes." Sirius motioned with his hands in the air. Remus nodded.

Sirius then proceeded to show Remus the star constellations of Leo, Orion and Pegasus. He pointed out the stars Regulus and Andromeda that were the namesake of his brother and cousin.

When Sirius had told him all about those constellations and stars he pointed at the sky one final time.

"That's Sirius." He exclaimed as he gazed low on the sky.

"Where?" Remus was very curious to locate Sirius' namesake. He had never seen the star before.

"Over there," Sirius pointed. "You see that really bright thing near the horizon?"

"Yeah," Remus breathed when he saw it.

"It's the brightest star in the sky." Sirius smiled at the sky, but Remus didn't look at the sky anymore. He lost himself in Sirius' smile.

"Look, a shooting star!" Sirius suddenly shouted as he pointed above them. Remus snapped his head back and looked up just in time to see the star burn out. His mouth fell agape. He had never witnessed a shooting star before. What did it mean?

"Quickly, make a wish!" Sirius urged with a wide smile.

"Okay, I wish-"

"No, not out loud! You need to think it or else it won't work." Sirius smacked his lips disapprovingly before he closed his eyes and frowned in thought. Remus realized that he was making a wish of his own.

Not knowing what else to do Remus copied him. He closed his eyes and thought of something to wish for. There were many things he would like to come true. He would like to find cure for his lycanthrope, or something that would make his scars disappear. He also thought it would be nice to be better at potions, or to be quicker at learning things. But then he felt the boy next to him shuffle closer and instantly he knew what to wish for.

He took a deep breath before he thought his wish loud and clear in his head. _'I wish for Sirius Black to love me back the same way I love him; unconditionally and wholeheartedly'._

He knew it was a lot to ask for, but if what you wished for upon a shooting star really came true he couldn't let the opportunity slip between his fingers. He had secretly loved Sirius for the past year so he was bound to notice a change if the wish really came true.

"Did you make a wish?" Sirius asked in a low whisper.

"Yeah," Remus trailed off as he opened his eyes to look at the sky above them. The stars had moved some since they laid down the first time and Remus suspected that they'd been outside for over an hour already, or perhaps even longer. It was hard to get a grip around time with darkness surrounding you.

He felt Sirius give his hand a squeeze and turned his head to the side, only to come nose to nose with Sirius again. He saw that Sirius had brought his wand, lit it and placed it about an arm's length from their head. The faint light reflected in Sirius' eyes and Remus felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Sirius' wonderful grey eyes dance in the light from it.

Remus felt his heart almost jump out of his chest when he saw Sirius raise his free hand to brush back Remus' fringe from his eyes. His entire body thumped from excitement when he watched Sirius thread his fingers through his hair. Subconsciously he held his breath, afraid to break the spell with his breathing.

He felt Sirius' hand slide down the side of his face until it cupped his left cheek. Remus' eyed widened, torn between feeling happy or surprised, when he felt Sirius start moving his thumb, caressing his cheek.

Remus blinked one, two, three times, trying to figure out if it was a dream of not. But Sirius hand stayed where it was on his cheek.

Remus looked into Sirius' eyes that expressed something Remus couldn't quite place. But they were fond, and almost looked at bit desperate. Remus breath hitched when he felt Sirius give his hand another squeeze.

"You're so beautiful..." Sirius mumbled, voice soft while glancing longingly at Remus' face, but then he jerked and quickly turned his head to look at the sky and let go of Remus' cheek in the process.

"W-what?" Remus spluttered, face turning red. Had Sirius, his secret love, told him he was beautiful?

"Ehm, the stars, are- ehm, they're so beautiful… Don't you think?" Sirius cleared his throat from where he lay fidgeting on the blanked next to Remus.

Remus looked at him baffled. It wasn't normal for Sirius to fidget, babble or to have such suspiciously red tinted cheeks... Remus squinted at him.

"Yeah...they are..." He mumbled, eyes searching Sirius' facial expression when suddenly Sirius turned to his side to look Remus in the eyes again.

"Actually, ehm," Sirius gave Remus' hand another squeeze and pressed his body if possible even closer to Remus'.

Remus' brain stopped functioning when his body shook from heat wave after heat wave. His stomach almost _hurt_ from the butterflies, and his heart pounded uncomfortably fast in his chest. He tried to meet Sirius' eyes but it was hard when all his focus was on controlling his own body. He opened his mouth to let out a pant, feeling like he'd just ran a marathon or something when he saw Sirius' lower his gaze to linger on Remus' lips.

Remus felt a spark of excitement spread through his body, but before he could do more than pant once Sirius had turned his gaze back to Remus' eyes. His expression had changed again, Remus noted, this time they looked determined.

He watched as Sirius' lips turned into a mischievous grin, and he was just about to ask Sirius what was so funny when he felt Sirius' hand snake its way up the outside of his thigh.

Remus bit his lip to hide the moan that wanted to escape. He forcefully shut his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. Sirius had probably only accidentally touched him again, and it would only be awkward if he let slip an aroused moan. But when he felt the hand snake higher to land on his waist he started to feel confused. Or well, mostly he felt turned on as he was trying not to wriggle around like mad under the hand, but other than that he felt confused. Did Sirius know what he was doing?

Opening his eyes to have a look at Sirius he realized that Sirius actions was probably intentional. They were almost nose-to-nose, and in the light of the wand Remus could see Sirius' half-opened eyes glance at his with a new expression. Remus couldn't quite name it, but he liked the way it made him feel.

He started to search Sirius' face some more but felt himself stop when he saw Sirius lean in closer. Remus' heart jumped out of his chest when he realized that Sirius might kiss him. He felt the anticipation built in his chest when he saw Sirius close his eyes and lean in more. Remus felt slightly confused, and wouldn't be surprised if he was to wake up from a dream at any minute now. At the time he didn't care if it was real or not, only that this might be his chance to kiss Sirius. So he shut his eyes, closed the distance between them and felt Sirius capture his lips with his own.

Remus felt something explode in his chest like fireworks. Electricity spread through his limbs as his body light on fire. The butterflies had escaped their cage in his stomach and flew around madly everywhere. He felt a giddy happiness built in his chest and suddenly wanted to laugh from where he lay on the blanket kissing Sirius.

Sirius' lips were firm, soft and moist against his. His own were probably dry and all chapped up from his bad habit of biting on them, but right then he didn't care. He finally got to kiss Sirius and it was amazing.

Sirius broke the kiss as they both were out of breath. They panted next to each other before Remus' laughter broke the silence.

"Ah ha ha," He suddenly couldn't stop laughing. He was too happy. In fact, he didn't think he'd ever felt that happy before in his entire life.

"What's so funny?" Sirius steadied himself on his elbows to look down at Remus' laughing face, but soon Sirius was laughing as well.

"You, ha ha, you kissed me," Remus managed in between his chuckles.

"Yeah, so? You kissed me back," Sirius raised one eyebrow, crooked grin on his lips that made Remus' heart swell with affection.

Remus couldn't explain it. All his pent up frustration, worry and anxiety he'd felt from his crush on Sirius for the past year suddenly left him in the form of mad laughter. He was just too happy not to laugh. He felt ready to burst from the warm feeling of jittery happiness in his chest.

Remus let go of Sirius' hand in favor of wrapping his arms around his stomach. He curled into a ball and then wriggled around on the blanket, the laughter taking over him.

Sirius watched him with an amused expression before he sat up and reached out his arms. He placed his hands on Remus' stomach and started tickling him fiercely.

"Ahh! S-stop!" Remus shrieked, now screaming in laughter." HA HA," he forced out, not sure if he liked the tickling or not.

"You like that?" Sirius chuckled above him, fingers digging deeper into Remus' stomach.

"Ah ha ha, n-no no," Tears ran down his cheeks, he cried out laughter after laughter, belly hurting from it and cheeks hurting from his smiling.

"What did you say? 'Please Pads tickle me more'? Well all right, if you ask to nicely!" Sirius grinned mischievously down at him before he started moving his hands to tickle Remus' sides. Remus squealed like a pig and started rolling around to shake Sirius' fingers off of him.

When Remus' voice was hoarse from all laughing/screaming he finally felt the fingers let go of him. He let out a last set of laughter that turned into harsh pants before he rolled to lay on his back. He looked up at Sirius only to find him reaching his arm out. First Remus jerked, afraid of getting another tickle attack, but relaxed when he felt the hand land on his cheek.

He felt Sirius wipe away a tear with his thumb while smiling down at him fondly.

Remus saw Sirius lean in to close the gap between them, capturing Remus' lips with his own. Remus automatically lifted his hands to cup Sirius' cheeks as he relished in the feeling of their second kiss.

Just like with the first one he felt it light his body on fire from the inside. His heart nearly pounded out of his chest, but it was wonderful. He felt the comfortable, addicting warmth swell in his chest and he felt the unlimited happiness return. With a giggle he felt Sirius break the kiss in favor of pressing their noses together, glancing into his eyes.

"Did you get what you wished for?" Sirius whispered, expression turning honest.

Remus felt his heart swell some more when he saw Sirius' honest expression. He felt a smile spread his lips that made his cheeks hurt. But he didn't care. He'd finally got what he'd most wanted. His wish upon a shooting star had come true. He'd gotten Sirius.

So he answered truthfully.

_"Yes"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this chapter! :D Only one day left..!
> 
> I know that all the star constellations can't be seen at the same time since they differ with the seasons, but you know, it's Hogwarts. Magic and all that... 
> 
> (Btw, I actually saw the constellation of Orion yesterday and today I'll search for Sirius. 100% trash over here!)


	12. Day seven - part one

**_Day seven - part one_ **

Sirius' face lit up before he kissed Remus again. He wrapped his arms around him and then turned them over so that Remus lay on top of him. Sirius broke the kiss but didn't let go, instead he started planting kisses all over Remus' forehead, cheeks and nose. Remus felt his face heat up from the affectionate kisses and his chest hurt from the love he felt for Sirius.

"I had to try and see if my wish would come true," Sirius whispered in between the kisses he planted all over Remus' face.

"But it did." He leaned back to give Remus a cocky smile.

"What do you mean?" Remus stared at him, not believing his ears.

"I think we might have wished for the same thing or something." Sirius smiled at him mysteriously before he leaned in to plant a chaste kiss on his lips.

"But my wish was kind of very detailed, I don't think..." Remus trailed off.

"It doesn't matter." Sirius smiled a brilliant smile. "The point is that you _finally_ kissed me!" He almost shouted in happiness.

Remus felt his jaw hit the ground. Sirius was happy that Remus finally kissed _him_? But it was the other way around!

"But-" Remus started but was interrupted when Sirius kissed him again, and Remus left the questions for later. Instead he relished in the wonderful feeling of lying on top of Sirius, kissing him.

They stayed like that for a while, sometimes rolling to their sides or making Sirius lay on top of him. Remus felt like he could burst from happiness when he felt Sirius kiss him time after time. Soon Sirius had kissed his entire face, ears, neck and the top of his head. Remus felt dizzy from the affection Sirius showed him, he simply could not put into words how much he loved to have Sirius kissing him. This was the moment he'd longed for for so long.

Feeling brave Remus took initiative and threaded his fingers in Sirius' hair as he planted kisses along Sirius' neck. He loved Sirius' reaction to him from where he could feel him squirm and pant underneath him.

Time flew as they hugged, kissed and laughed together, lost in the magical bliss of the moment.

Remus had turned into a giggling mess, and he stumbled on his jelly legs when he rose up from their blankets. His right arm was wrapped around Sirius' waist for support, but from the look of it Sirius' knees were just as weak as his.

They both laughed when they fell back down twice before they managed to stand up even remotely straight. Sirius planted a quick kiss on Remus' lips before he reached down to get his wand from the ground. They stepped onto the snow next to their blankets before Sirius aimed his wand at the blankets muttering a set of spells. The blankets stopped radiating heat as well as they flew up the air, folded and hung themselves on Sirius outstretched arm. Feeling content Sirius tucked his wand away in his back pocket.

Remus felt his already red cheeks burn more when Sirius lowered his left hand to grip Remus'. He gave Sirius a shy smile that quickly turned into an excited grin. Merlin, he was so love-struck already it was silly.

"Do you know what time it is?" Sirius asked with a bright smile.

Remus shook his head before he glanced up at the stars that had moved significantly. "No, but probably around midnight I guess." The sky was still of a deep blue color, but a couple of clouds had blown in and Remus guessed that it would start snowing soon. He tightened his grip on Sirius' hand when he felt Sirius steer them back in the direction of the castle.

Remus tried to contain another giggle but failed miserably. He was just too happy to conceal it. For once he felt like there wasn't anything that could destroy his good mood.

He briefly let his mind wander to his memories of getting bullied, failing his Potions test twice and to his horrible monthly transformations, but he didn't feel the usual clench of worry in his chest. He only felt the overflowing wonderful warmth that spread throughout his body and came out in the form of another giggle.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked, but he accidentally let slip a giggle himself.

"Well since you're laughing as well, you tell me." Remus gave him a skeptic look but then felt Sirius tug at his hand and pull him into a hug.

Remus body automatically tensed at first, but then he relaxed. He lifted his free hand to swipe along Sirius' back before Sirius grinned down at him.

"You know you're perfect right, Remus?" His breath ghosted over Remus' face as Remus turned his gaze down to stare at his feet. Sure, he loved Sirius like nothing else, and would answer him truthfully if there was something he wanted to know. But he wasn't very fond of talking about himself, so he turned quiet and stared at his feet suddenly feeling very awkward.

He tilted his head back up when he felt a hand caress his chin. He met Sirius' concerned eyes.

"Okay, I'm rephrasing. I think you're perfect and I want you to know that." He smiled before his hand swiped up to cup Remus' cheek. Remus closed his eyes when Sirius kissed him again, slower this time.

Remus thought Sirius' kisses were magical. It was if everything around them disappeared. The time froze and he felt safe and protected in Sirius' firm but gentle arms. There was just some sort of sincerity about it that made Remus never want the kisses to stop. It was like a nice dream that left him feeling all warm inside.

"You're beautiful," Remus blurted out when they broke the kiss.

"Thanks Moony, not as beautiful as you though." Sirius winked with a cocky smile that made it very difficult for Remus to believe him.

When they reached the main doors Remus brought the Marauder's Map from his trouser pocket, picked out his wand from his robe, aimed it at it and mumbled an _'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'_. They watched as the many dots and footsteps of Hogwarts' inhabitants started walking around on the Map. After a couple of seconds Remus had planned a route for them to take on their way back to the common room.

Remus placed his wand back in his pocket and then immediately felt Sirius grab it in his. Hand in hand they walked through the many hidden corridors they'd found through the years back to the common room. They had to take two detours when Remus spotted Mr. Filch's and Professor Hilly's dots on the map, but soon they found themselves walking in through the portrait hole.

Remus groaned when the loud music met his ears. The party had yet to end, he thought.

He glanced down at their clasped hands and expected Sirius to let go as soon as they came back, but he didn't. Instead he flashed Remus a happy grin before he yanked them towards the couch. Remus tucked away the Map with his free hand while Sirius placed the pair of blankets back from where he'd found them and then turned his eyes to the snacks table.

"Moony I think someone destroyed your cake." Sirius pointed his index finger at the delicious chocolate cake which made Remus laugh.

"I did." He chuckled. Sirius gave him a funny look.

"You sure? It's not like you to eat from the middle; you're usually all about cuts, slices and stuff." Sirius gave him a playful jab in the shoulder.

"Yeah, well that's me. Full of surprises." Remus shrugged. If he was honest he wasn't sure about which words that came out of his mouth. He still felt dizzy and giddy with happiness from their stargazing and sneaking around at the castle. He grinned at Sirius before he felt another giggle escape his body.

They stayed in the common room long enough to see most of the students leave for the night. When the dance floor only consisted of a couple of seventh years they decided to head back for their dorm. Sirius mumbled something about 'the seventh years can turn the room back to normal' under his breath as they opened the door leading to the boys dormitories.

When they reached their door Sirius let go of Remus' hand in favor of clasping his hands over Remus' cheeks. Remus met his eyes with a smile.

"Good night Moony." Sirius breathed before he closed the distance between them and captured Remus' lips with his own. Remus swiped his arms around Sirius' waist and pressed them closer together.

"Good night Sirius." Remus breathed when they broke the kiss. Reluctantly he let go of Sirius' warm body and instead placed his hand on the door knob.

They heard the chatting voices of James and Peter when they entered through the door, and Remus desperately tried to scorn his facial expression to look normal, but he felt a giggle of happiness escape him almost as soon as he stepped inside.

He slapped his hand over his mouth before he rushed over to his bed. He heard Sirius laugh behind him and Peter mumble a 'what the hell?', but the most prominent voice in the room belonged to James.

"What was that?" He sang as he rose up from his bed and made his way over to Remus'. "What was that sound just then? A...giggle?" He gasped dramatically.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Remus gulped as he searched his bed for his pajamas. When he felt a hand land on his shoulder he was forced to turn around.

"You sneaked out?" James wore a curious, mischievous grin before he wriggled his eyebrows at him. He looked proud of himself for some reason unknown.

"We- uhm-" Remus felt his face heat up as he lowered his gaze to stare at his feet.

"Sod off Jamie-boy," Sirius said but he didn't sound irritated, in fact he was still laughing as Remus watched him walk over to James and give him a - Remus narrowed his eyes and gaped in disbelief - a _high five_.

He watched the strange exchange between Sirius and James continue when James aimed a friendly punch on Sirius' shoulder, then Sirius ruffled James' already messy hair. They stopped to share a look with each other before both grinned and nodded.

Okay, that was weird.

Remus opened and closed his mouth in disbelief. It almost looked like James congratulated Sirius for something. But it just didn't make any sense because if James was to congratulate anyone it would be Remus. If he'd worked out that they'd kind of gotten together he would be fast to congratulate Remus, having known his secret, right? If not...

"What was that?" Peter demanded as he walked up to James and Sirius.

"What was what Wormy?" James flashed him a grin before he leaned his elbow on Sirius' shoulder.

Peter narrowed his eyes as he glanced first at James and then at Sirius. "Oh bugger," He sighed before he flew his hands in the air in surrender. "You know what? I don't care anymore!" Peter walked back to his own bed, but Remus thought it looked like he did care. A lot even.

Remus turned his attention back to James and Sirius right when James walked away, heading for their bathroom. Remus then watched as Sirius made his way over to Remus' bed and sat down on it. Remus instantly felt the odd feeling he'd gotten from watching the previous scene leave him when Sirius looked him in the eyes.

"See you tomorrow Moony." Sirius smiled before he leaned in to plant a slow, wonderful, kiss on his lips. Remus hummed into it as he felt like he was flying.

"Ahh!"

Remus gave Sirius a giddy smile when he broke the kiss to see what'd made the loud shrieking noise.

"Cheers on you too Wormtail!" Sirius grinned and Remus turned his head to the side and saw Peter stare at them, eyes wide as saucepans and jaw dropping to the floor.

"Y-y-you-" He sputtered, eyes darting from Remus and Sirius at an incredible speed.

"You're going to bed now. It's very late and our Petey-pie needs his beauty sleep, so let papa-Padfoot help you to bed." Sirius teased before he leaned in to place a quick peck on Remus' cheek. He gave Remus a wink before he stood up from the bed and walked over to a squeaking Peter.

Remus didn't hear the sounds Peter made, or Sirius teasing him around the room. The only thing he could hear was the pounding from his heart echoing in his ears as his body reacted to the kiss. His chest was filled with that incredible warm fuzzy feeling and he felt himself giggle again. His lips was stretched into a mad grin and he thought that his lips had probably never stretched that wide before.

With a feeling of pure happiness he got ready to go to bed and then closed the curtains around him. Well inside his private space he let out a loud set of happy shrieks and laughed while rolling around on his bed hugging his pillow. He thought it was crazy, how his entire life had turned upside down in just a matter of hours.

"Ha ha ha, iih!" Remus sqealed on the bed, voicing his love for Sirius. But then he heard a loud voice break through the curtains.

"Remus? Is that you?" James asked, barely hiding a chuckle. From the sound of it he stood just outside the curtains.

Damn.

Remus froze on his bed when he remembered he'd forgotten to cast a silencing charm.

Awkward!

He quickly fiddled around to search for his wand. He made a loud snoring noise to trick James that he was sleeping.

"You can't fool me Moony. I've shared a dorm with you for over three years, I know you don't snore." James sang, apparently walking away if the volume of his voice was anything to go by.

Remus found his wand and quickly cast the silencing charm. He tried to calm his racing heart but soon he found himself laughing again. It was just so awkward to be busted giggling like some love-struck idiot.

But then he gave the thing a thought and realized that perhaps he really was a love-struck idiot.

~

"Wakey, wakey Moonbeam!"

Remus jerked awake at the loud voice.

"Who, wha-" Remus blinked a few times.

"Good mooorning!" Sirius sang from where he peeked through the curtains with a warm smile.

"Morning Padfoot." Remus relaxed and felt the butterflies flutter in his stomach. Had yesterday really been real?

But from the way Sirius forcefully dragged the curtains open and then sank down next to Remus on his bed, it had.

Sirius blinked up at Remus expectantly before he reached out to grab his hand. Remus felt a giddy smile spread on his lips when he felt Sirius start caressing of wrist with his thumb. But then he suddenly remembered something that made his heart jump.

"Wait Sirius, what did you just call me?" He held his breath in anticipation.

Sirius glanced up at the ceiling in thought before realization dawned on his face. His cheeks turned pink and his mouth formed into an 'o'.

"Oh, ehm, I don't know? Moonbeam perhaps..." He trailed off, eyes settling on Remus' shoulder.

Remus felt his heart start pounding almost painfully in his chest, eyes widening in disbelief. It was just too good to be true.

"Moonbeam as in _'To my precious moonbeam, that should try out for the Quidditch team_ '?" He whispered, voice thick with disbelief.

Sirius gulped and actually looked embarrassed. "Ehm, well, something like that…"

Remus wanted to jump on his bed and shout in joy. Sirius was his secret admirer!

But then he realized that it had really been kind of obvious. S as in Sirius, and there were really only a handful of people that called him Moony. He felt torn between wanting to scold himself for not realizing it sooner or to feel incredibly relieved and happy. He decided for the latter, after all he was incredibly relieved that it hadn't been just another one of James and Peter's prank cards.

"Thank you for the card." Remus smiled at him, but words could not express the love he felt right then, so he leaned in and captured Sirius' lips with his own. He felt Sirius lift his free hand to run through his hair and lifted his own free hand to mimic the action.

"So you don't think it was cheesy?" Sirius asked him uncertainly when they broke the kiss.

"No! Of course not." Remus smiled at him. "In fact, it's the most wonderful thing I have ever read." He said as a-matter-of-fact.

After some comfortable silence Sirius spoke. "So, did you write any cards?" He looked at his nails, trying to seem like he didn't care but Remus could see that he did. He realized that this was his opportunity to reveal to Sirius that he was the secret card writer.

He made Sirius look him deeply into his eyes before he started.

" _To the brightest star in the sky, you make me want to try,"_ He saw Sirius entire face lit up at the words.

" _To the most handsome boy in Gryffindor, you make all my worries fall to the floor_ ,"

He stopped reading the poem from his mind when Sirius kissed him passionately. Remus felt himself get swept away by the many emotions Sirius conveyed with the kiss.

"It was _you_." Sirius stated as soon as they broke the kiss, slightly panting.

"Yes it was." Remus smiled. "But honestly, how many R's do you know that could write something like that?" He mocked.

"Oh I don't know, I'm a very popular guy." He flashed his cocky grin to which he earned a playful jab in the shoulder from Remus.

"Cocky bastard." He muttered but the smile on his lips lingered.

Sirius suddenly leaned in close to his ear.

"You know you like it when I'm cocky." He drew out every word in a low husky voice. Remus bit his lip when a spark of arousal shot straight to his groin. He felt the mood change and he started panting. Merlin, it was too easy for Sirius to affect him.

Sirius leaned back, crooked grin showing off his brilliant white teeth.

Remus focused on holding back his urges but then he remembered that he was allowed to kiss Sirius now. They were an item, even though it was hard for him to believe it.

Feeling bold Remus closed the distance between them and captured Sirius' lips with his own. He brought his free hand to swipe along Sirius' back and he felt Sirius cup his cheek. They lay there, lips pressed together and relishing in the feel until Remus felt Sirius' tongue swipe across his lower lip. He felt another spark reach his groin and hummed approvingly. Seeming urged on Sirius quickly parted his lips and Remus did the same.

Remus let slip a low moan when he felt Sirius' tongue sneak its way into his mouth and slide to meet his own. When they started sliding their tongues together Remus felt heat pooling in the lowest part of his stomach, his skin catching fire.

He wriggled his body to lay pressed up tightly against Sirius' when he felt Sirius' hand swipe over his back, lowering to press against his lower back.

The kiss was slow and tentative at first as they got used to the new feeling, but then Remus wanted more. His body urged him on to lift his hand and thread his fingers in Sirius' hair before he used it to try and press their mouth's tighter together, tried to deepen the kiss.

Remus tightened his grip on Sirius' hair and heard him moan into his mouth. The sound sent a shiver down Remus' spine, making him hum approvingly. His skin had broken out in gooseflesh, chest swelled with wonderful emotions and his heart pounded like mad. When Sirius lowered his hand to caress his briefs-clad buttocks Remus felt a strong surge of desire overtake him. Out of instinct he thrust his hips against Sirius', and he almost shouted at the incredible sensation.

Sirius speeded on the movements of his tongue as he kissed Remus deeper, all the while he let slip small moans here and there. Remus had lost himself in the moment completely as he delivered thrust after thrust against Sirius that answered them eagerly. Remus had no idea what they were doing, but it felt too damn incredible to not be something good.

"Good morning mates!" A loud voice cheered above them.

They immediately broke the kiss and proceeded to turn their heads from side to side, trying to locate the intruder. Remus felt himself gasp when he spotted James standing in the gap of his curtains.

"It's such a brilliant day isn't it?" James sang as he turned his grinning face from Remus to Sirius.

"What?" Sirius croaked. Remus looked over at him and felt himself blush when he saw Sirius' swollen lips, glazed eyes and messy hair. He realized that he probably looked the same.

"So are you guys coming or what?" James winked at them before he resumed to his grinning. Remus got irritated by how happy he looked. Did he not understand that he was interrupting the best moment in Remus' life?

"What are you on about Prongsie?" Sirius flattened out his clothes while lifting one of his perfectly arched brows.

"Pete and I are heading down for breakfast. It's already around ten so I thought I would be a good mate and fetch you two before we left." He wriggled his eyebrows. "Did I interrupt you or something?" His grin turned into a smirk. Remus didn't like the knowing look in his eyes.

"No, ehm, Sirius just woke me up. We'll head to breakfast with you, I'm just gonna get ready real quick." Remus spoke to a spot at the floor behind James. His cheeks were burning and he did not want to look James in the eyes.

"What's that?" James voice had turned into a low, curious whisper. Remus looked up and saw that he was pointing at him, or no, he was pointing at Remus' lap. Glancing down Remus saw his proud erection barely hid under his thin briefs.

Merlin!

Faster than he'd ever done anything in his life he reached for his pillow and threw it in his lap. Face burning he heard Sirius snicker and James huff out a couple of smug chuckles. Damn bastards.

"Tossers," Remus muttered before he got up from the bed, grabbed a pile of clothes from under his bed and then forced his way out of the curtains, giving James a hard nudge in the side in the process. He stomped to their bathroom with his clothes in one hand and the pillow held into place, covering his lap, by his other.

"What-!" He heard Peter squeak but he didn't turn around to explain.

"Okay Wormy, now I'm going to tell you what happens when two people like each other some extra..." Remus heard James start just as he closed the door behind him.

His face burned from embarrassment, but his groin didn't seem to mind the interruption as it was still twitching excitedly in his briefs. Remus wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve before he stalked over to the shower stalls. He was in need of a long, ice cold shower.

~

Remus and Sirius trailed after James and Peter on their way to the Great Hall for a late breakfast. It was a nice Sunday morning with the sun shining and the frozen grounds outside glistened in the sunlight.

They walked hand in hand and Remus was ready to burst from happiness from where he walked next to Sirius that leaned in to whisper approving words in his ear every twenty steps or so.

Peter walked exceptionally fast in front of them, his head staring at something in ahead of him as he seemed to try and ignore their presence. James however sent them smug glances over his shoulder so often that he walked into Peter thrice.

Remus chuckled when he felt Sirius tug at their hands and then pull Remus in for a tight hug. Remus answered it with a joyful laugh. He was just too happy and he felt like he was walking on air, or that Sirius had supplied him with wings that made him fly.

He was so happy that he almost didn't notice the many gasps, stares and glares that were aimed their way as they passed other students in the corridors. Remus saw the surprised faces of their fellow Gryffindors as they walked their way along the long table in the Great Hall, but Sirius didn't seem to mind so Remus didn't either.

When they sat down on their usual spots Remus let his eyes wander briefly over the tables, but found his eyes stop when he saw a furious glare aimed at him. He squinted and could make out the blond hair and brown eyes. Sophie McLennon.

Remus smirked at her glare. Then he leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Sirius' cheek before he looked back at her. She vibrated from jealousy and Remus smirked some more. Serves her right.

Remus made himself a cup of Citrus tea and actually piled up a pancake to his plate.

"Hungry today Moons?" Sirius asked with a loving smile that Remus was quick to return.

"Perhaps," He sang with a teasing grin.

Sirius winked at him and Remus felt a hand under the table nestle its way to his hand. He felt a brush creep up his cheeks when Sirius grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He aimed Sirius a watery smile of happiness to which Sirius smiled his crooked grin.

Remus thought Sirius looked extra handsome today. Somehow his eyes seemed to dance, his smile was confident and his posture was straighter than before. And the faint blush on his cheeks was another plus. Remus couldn't tore his eyes away from the beauty that was Sirius Black's face.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sirius shove his free hand down his back pocket and then saw him hold out his open hand in front of Remus' chest.

"Fancy a chocolate frog?" He winked.

"Where'd you get that?" Remus asked surprised.

"Brought it from the dorm," He chuckled. "Thought it would be romantic or something." He lowered his voice as his smile wavered. Remus thought his chest was going to burst from the love he felt for Sirius right there. The gesture was so innocent, brilliant and perfect at the same time. Sirius had brought him a _chocolate frog._ He didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry, it was just too adorable.

"Thank you Sirius," He managed with a watery smile. He didn't care about the fact that his voice had squeaked at the end, he had to relay his feelings to Sirius.

Sirius gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before he let it go. He then unwrapped the chocolate frog and placed it in between his index finger and thumb of his right hand. Grinning he shook his head twice before he gave Remus a loving gaze.

"I never thought I'd do this but," He lifted his right hand so that it was right outside Remus' mouth. "Open up cause here comes the train!" He chuckled and then mimicked the sound of a train with a 'toot toot'.

Remus face turned bright red. Merlin, Sirius had just reached new heights of silliness. But even though it was embarrassing he found himself laughing at the scene. Sirius was just too much.

"Ha ha," He laughed sincerely, slightly opening his mouth in the process. Sirius saw his opportunity and pushed the frog between his lips.

"Mhmm!" Remus shrieked in laughter when he felt the frogs head come in contact with his tongue. He gave Sirius an I-can't-believe-your-doing-this-right-now look but then surrendered and allowed Sirius to feed him the rest of the chocolate frog. It was delicious.

When the frog was gone Sirius quickly clasped their hands together under the table again while giving Remus a toothy grin. He thought Sirius resemblances a happy puppy.

"Yuck!"

Remus looked up at Peter whose face had turned into a grimace.

"What is it Pete?" Sirius asked with just a hint of warning in his tone.

"Nothing much, just being forced to watch two of my best mates feed each other in front of me all of a sudden. So yeah, I'm not confused or off put or anything. Please go on and feed him another frog." The sarcasm drippled from Peter's voice, but before any of them had time to defend themselves James spoke up.

"Well, I don't know about you but I could watch them go on all day." He said dreamily.

"What?" Peter piped, staring at him incredulously.

"Isn't it just beautiful? Young love..."James sighed dramatically before he leaned forward on his elbows to get a closer look of Remus and Sirius that desperately tried to hide their chuckles, but failed miserably.

Peter crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair muttering something that sounded a lot like 'He's mental'.

When Remus turned his gaze to James' dreamy eyes he felt his mind start wandering to the many reasons for James' expression. What if Sirius had told James about his crush on Remus? That would have meant that James worked as a double agent, helping both Remus and Sirius on each end.

Then Remus suddenly saw all pieces fall together. He remembered how James had made Sirius sit in his lap during the game of Truth or Dare, how he'd been so sure that it was going to be 'alright' when he confessed that he was in love with Sirius, and how James had pushed him to fall straight into Sirius' embrace the day prior. James had known that they liked each other, and played matchmaker undercover.

Remus smiled at James. Sure, he was a bit frustrated over the fact that him and Sirius had been played with, like some puppets or something, but most of all he was grateful. Finally he was able to hold Sirius' hand in his. Able to sneak a kiss from him if he wanted to. Able to be loved back.

Remus turned his head to the side and grinned when he saw Sirius watching him from the side.

As he received a flirty wink from Sirius he realized that he probably owed James bigtime. But that's also when he remembered that James was mad about his good pal Lily. Perhaps he could return the favor...

"Look! It's snowing!"

Remus reluctantly tore his gaze from Sirius to look out the windows. Whoever had said that was right. The snow fell from the light February sky, glistening in the light from the sun.

"Want to go outside?" Peter asked, also looking out the windows.

After receiving a suggestive wink from Sirius Remus soon found himself heading out the castle with Sirius' arm swept over his shoulders. All his focus was on the handsome, warm and constantly flirting boy next to him, but out of the corner of his eyes he thought he could see Peter drag James out the main doors. James seemed to alternate between glancing dreamy over at Remus and Sirius and mourn his own dead love life.

As they walked down the main stairs Remus was happy that it wasn't the other way around. He still couldn't believe it, but he had finally got _his_ love of his life to like him back. He felt sad for James, but didn't really care at the moment as he relished in the feeling of having Sirius so close to him.

He turned his head to the side and gave Sirius a watery smile. He saw Sirius' face lit up before he leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his lips.

When Sirius let go Remus turned his attention to the path they were walking on. He let out a low laugh as he let his mind wander. It was going to be a great day.


	13. Day seven - part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, guess who found Orion and Sirius on the night sky yesterday. Yes, that's right. Me! ☆
> 
> Anyway; here we have it. The final chapter to the story! 
> 
> I've had a blast writing this and hope you liked it as well. 
> 
> Thank you for reading/commenting! <3 :D

**_Day seven - part two_ **

"Get a room already!"

Reluctantly Remus broke the passionate kiss with Sirius in favor of sending a glare at Peter.

"We're not going anywhere, look away or something!" Sirius shouted before he leaned in to capture Remus' lips with his own again. Remus felt his entire body heat up from the feeling of having Sirius' wonderful smooth lips pressed tightly on his own. He hummed when he felt Sirius' hand card through his hair.

"Come on!" Peter yelled, voice full of disbelief.

Sirius only chuckled against Remus' lips before he traced his tongue over Remus' lower lip. Remus felt his breath hitch as he parted his lips to allow it entrance. He felt his knees go weak under him when Sirius' wet, hot tongue met his own. Merlin, Sirius was just too perfect. (And the best kisser, like ever.)

Remus let his hands swipe up and down Sirius' back, trying to pull them closer together. In response Sirius swept an arm around Remus' waist, hand on Remus' hair pulling them closer together and thus deepening the kiss further. Remus felt his entire body melt under Sirius' tongue, and for a moment he forgot about everything except for Sirius.

"Pete's right though." A voice exclaimed from somewhere on Remus' left.

"What?" Sirius mumbled after he'd broken the kiss, looking irritated from where he panted forehead to forehead with Remus.

"Well, it's kind of difficult to play a game of snowball when one team is busy snogging each other's brains out." James shrugged but didn't hide his smug smirk.

Remus felt his face heat up. He really should know better than to allow himself being offer for Sirius' display of affection out in public like this. In front of James and Peter.

"Tch, you were losing anyway," Sirius leaned back from Remus, let go of his waist and hair and instead took Remus' right hand with his left.

"No!? We were totally winning, but now we'll never know because you stopped playing in the middle of it!" Peter stomped around on the ground looking angry. Remus felt a bit sorry for him. There were only a handful of things Peter was better at than the others, snowball fights being one of them. He was probably angry because Sirius had taken away his opportunity to show off.

"And it's freezing out here!" Peter stomped over to James and stole his scarf off of him. "I need this more." He mumbled, glaring, to an amused James. It wasn't often that Peter got upset.

"Sorry Prongs, Wormtail." Remus hurried to say. He turned his head to the side and saw Sirius barely hiding a chuckle from where he watched Peter's tantrum. Remus sighed. Here he felt embarrassed and a bit guilty for having ruined their game, but Sirius didn't even have the decency to look apologetic.

"Nah, it's fine." James smiled reassuringly at Remus before he brought up his collar to cover his bare neck. "The game was almost over anyway." James buried his hands in his armpits.

Remus frowned at him. That wasn't true. They had just started with the snowball throwing, and Peter had hit Remus and Sirius one time each. The game had just started.

He turned his gaze to the ground and looked at his and Sirius' pile of snowballs, feeling the guilt build up again. It was his fault for letting Sirius have such an effect on him. It was his fault that Peter and James were angry.

"Moony, it's fine." Remus turned his attention back to James that had walked towards them.

"You sure?" Remus frowned. "Peter doesn't look all too happy." He added as he watched Peter kick his pile of snowballs, over James' shoulder.

"I'm sure. And anyway, it's freezing out here. Think it's about time to head back inside." James said reassuringly before he turned his attention to Sirius. "But you don't have to follow us, if you know what I mean..." James smirked while he winked not so subtly to Sirius that got a smirk of his own.

"Ta Prongs, see you later then?" Sirius reached out to jab James playfully on his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you!" James chirped before he turned around on the spot to drag an angry Peter with him back to the castle. Remus trailed them with his eyes for a while, but stopped when he felt Sirius breath out alarmingly close to his ear.

Remus yelped and tried to ignore the powerful shiver that run down his spine when he heard Sirius speak.

"Want to follow me to the Astronomy Tower?" He asked low, his voice raspy and slightly hoarse from the Quidditch cheering the day before.

"I-I-" Remus started, stumbling on the words as his brain collapsed, melted or exploded. Remus couldn't control his body when Sirius did things like that, and he didn't know whether to love it or hate it.

"Yes," Remus finally managed to stutter out. He closed his eyes in embarrassment when he heard Sirius chuckle against his ear.

"You're too cute." Sirius whispered from where he leaned back to start walking them back towards the castle.

Remus felt his flush reach his ears at that. He wasn't cute. He was many things, but definitely not cute. Cute was for little puppies, kittens or fluffy things. But before he had time to even open his mouth to voice his opinion he felt Sirius capture his lips with his own again.

"Mmh!" He voiced in surprise, but it soon turned into a hum of pleasure when Sirius stopped their walking to give Remus a great snog. Remus vaguely thought that Sirius might have to carry him back inside if the weakness in his knees got any worse.

~

Sirius led Remus the many flights up to the Astronomy Tower, arm never leaving his shoulders until they reached their destination.

Sirius opened the door to the lookout for Remus and they stepped out. To their relief it was free from other students and they would have the place all for themselves.

The breeze that reached Remus was cold but brisk. It was refreshing and felt freeing to be so high up in the air.

Remus walked to the railing and leaned his forearms on it, taking in the vast grounds of Hogwarts underneath. He let his eyes wander from the Forbidden Forest, to the Whomping Willow and to the Black Lake. He smiled when he saw the beech tree, before he lifted his gaze to look at the horizon. Out in the distance he could see mountains and many, many green fields that seemed to go on forever. He admired Scotland.

"Like the view?" Sirius asked when he positioned himself next to Remus, or more like pressed his entire left side onto Remus' right side. But he didn't complain, no he loved to feel Sirius so close to him.

Remus felt daring so he draped his arm around Sirius' waist and pulled him in closer before he answered.

"Yeah, I like to see it from above." He turned his head to his side to smile at Sirius. "You?"

He saw Sirius' face contort into a smirk. "Yeah, it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He stated, voice low and serious but suggestive. Remus let slip a gasp when he realized that Sirius meant him.

He felt his cheeks heat up again and heart start pounding, but before he got a chance to respond Sirius had turned his gaze to the grounds.

"They named the Black Lake after me, you know." Sirius smiled playfully.

Remus felt the wheels in his brain start turning again and he frowned at Sirius.

"No, they didn't."

"But they should've." Sirius shot him a grin to which Remus sighed, but he was actually trying to hide a smile. Sirius was too self-centered, but he loved that about him as well. He felt like his over confidence weighted up Remus' lack of one.

Remus turned his gaze back to the horizon and they stayed like that for a while. Remus' arm around Sirius' waist, their bodies pressed tightly together as they saw the sun move on the sky above them. They watched as students had snowball fights, chased each other around and sat down by the lakeside. Remus felt at peace and relaxed by the cold air, warmth from Sirius' and peace and quiet that was present in the Astronomy Tower. He felt his eyelids begin to drift shut slowly but quickly snapped them open when he felt Sirius card a hand though his hair.

His heart rate sped up as he turned his head to look at Sirius who he suspected had been staring at him.

"Are you sleepy?" Sirius asked with a wink that made Remus heart jump.

"N-no." Remus stuttered. "Well, not anymore," Remus added with a shy smile.

"Good." Sirius stated, looking proud of himself before he grabbed Remus by his shoulders and turned them both around on the spot so that they stood chest-to-chest.

"What-" Remus started when he came nose-to-nose with Sirius but didn't have time to finish his sentence as Sirius threw himself on Remus in a tight hug.

Remus blew out a huff off air at the contact, but soon he found himself hugging Sirius back with fervor as well. Through their robes Remus could feel the comfortable heat radiate from Sirius' body, and he tightened his grip around Sirius, tried to pull him closer.

He jerked when he felt Sirius lips brush over his neck, somewhere where his scarf had ridden up.

He felt Sirius press down his soft, warm lips on his neck slowly before he parted his lips to suck at the spot. Remus tried to hide a moan when he felt a spark of arousal hit his groin that responded quickly at the gesture. He felt his nerves start tingling when Sirius moved his lips over Remus' neck, kissing and sucking and probably leaving a trail of spit behind.

He felt Sirius tug Remus' scarf of off him and saw him throw it on the ground. Remus closed his eyes when Sirius returned to his neck.

When Sirius reached Remus' jawline Remus felt himself being slightly pushed to lean back on the railing. He tightened his grip on Sirius while he craned his neck to allow him better access. He felt every kiss, lick and suck send jolt after jolt of pleasure through his body and by now he had turned into a panting mess. He didn't quite know what Sirius was doing but he loved it. He never wanted him to stop.

When Sirius had kissed his jaw, chin, cheeks and forehead he leaned back and Remus opened his eyes. Remus tried to scold his expression but he just couldn't stop panting. He felt his cheeks burn and had trouble keeping his eyes fully open, but when he saw Sirius look him in the eyes he gave up all tries to scold his expression.

Sirius' eyelids were partly closed and his eyes swirled with strong emotions. Remus thought they sparkled in the most beautiful of silver as they looked at him filled with lust. He saw Sirius smirk at him before he leaned down and closed the distance between them.

Remus let out a small moan of pleasure when he felt Sirius' tongue pry entrance to his mouth. He lifted his hands to grab fistfuls of Sirius' smooth hair, while using them to press Sirius' closer to him, deepening the kiss.

Remus felt like he was walking on air as he met Sirius' eager tongue with his own. He let Sirius take command and Remus followed his every move, answered his every swipe of tongue.

He felt Sirius place his hands on his lower back and then slowly swipe them down. Remus felt another spark of arousal hit his groin when Sirius' hands settled on his bottom. He gasped when he felt him squeeze his fingers through the fabric, making Remus more turned on than ever before.

He broke the kiss in favor of panting harshly into Sirius' parted lips. He glanced up and saw Sirius with a similar expression, his lips swollen, cheeks red and eyes glanced over with lust.

Feeling a mixture between bold and desperate with Sirius' warm hands on his bottom Remus lowered his own pair of hands from Sirius' hair to swipe down his back, settling on his bottom. With a small smile he spread his fingers to cover as much of Sirius' buttocks as possible before he pulled Sirius closer to him, making their groins press against each other.

Remus felt a powerful shudder shake his body and he let slip a moan. Sirius' bulge lay pressed against his own and it was a sensation unlike any other. This was what he had wanted for so long. For too long.

At the contact he heard Sirius voice a rather load moan that sent another jolt of arousal to his groin. He felt Sirius start rub his body against him, making their hard bulges rub against each other.

Remus threw his head back and closed his eyes. He heard Sirius let out moan after moan, but Remus bit them back and instead opened his mouth as he used his hands to press Sirius down on him, harder every time.

He felt Sirius lean his forehead on his shoulder as he gave Remus' buttocks another squeeze. Remus was sweating and his body felt like it was on fire. He could feel Sirius all over him, all around him and smell his wonderful scent with every breath. He basked in the wonderful moment with Sirius, wanting it to go on for as long as possible. But then the pressing matter in his pants made itself remembered and Remus let out a low grunt.

"Do that again," Sirius surprised Remus with his hushed whisper, but Remus complied. He let out another low, animalistic growl and then felt his heart jump when he heard Sirius' loud moan of pleasure.

Remus frowned. That was weird, if not a bit kinky. He would need to remember that for another time...

His thoughts were interrupted when Sirius lifted his head to capture his lips with Remus' in a kiss that turned out to be very slobby. Sirius alternated between kissing, licking and sucking on Remus' lower lip and kissing him deeply. But Remus didn't complain. Instead he shifted a bit on the spot and then pressed his leg in between Sirius'.

"Ah," Sirius panted as he broke the kiss. Remus felt his belly churn with anticipation when he felt Sirius' bits press against the fabric of his trousers. He got almost crazy with desire when he felt the perfect hardness press against his thigh again and again as he pressed his leg onto it harder every time. Soon Sirius had turned into a panting mess.

Remus felt Sirius spread his legs to allow Remus better access before he felt Sirius press down on his thigh to meet him with every push. Remus felt like he could die from arousal when he saw and Sirius do that. It was just too hot, and suddenly to feel Sirius with his leg wasn't enough anymore. He felt the animal in him take over when he retreated his leg and instead pressed Sirius' against his own bulge instead.

He was just about to suggest that they take things to the next step when he felt Sirius let go of his bottom and felt him swipe his hands to Remus' belly, snaking his fingers inside his robe to search for the hem of Remus' shirt. He yelped when the cold hands found the hem and made their way up Remus' naked back. But soon the hands were warmed up and Remus let his own hands wander over Sirius' body until they lay pressed on his naked back.

Remus smiled at Sirius shyly when he searching let his hands wander to Sirius' chest, caressing his muscles and fair, smooth skin.

He saw Sirius grin at him before he felt him swipe his hands over to Remus' chest, but they stopped their swiping and instead found a nipple each. Remus let out a gasp when Sirius pinched them, teasing them until they turned hard and sent a pleasurable feeling through Remus' body. The feeling was foreign, but not unwelcome.

Feeling bold again Remus mimicked the trick on Sirius and found himself smiling proudly when Sirius let out a moan. Within a couple of seconds Sirius had let go of Remus' nipples as he basked in the sensation of having his own being pinched and teased.

Remus felt his smile falter and turn into a moan when Sirius pressed himself against Remus again. Remus let his hands fall to his sides and then wrap around Sirius' back when Sirius aimed a thrust at him.

Remus alternated between gasping and panting from where he held onto Sirius. He felt a heat slowly built up in the pit of his stomach as his groin pulsed and begged him to be touched. The rubbing against Sirius' bulge made Remus almost crazy with desire.

He let out a moan when he felt Sirius snake his hand down to press against his erection. Remus panted harshly and met Sirius' hand with desperate thrusts when he rubbed his hand slowly, firmly against it.

Remus gripped a fistful of Sirius' hair and bit down on his neck when it got too much. He felt Sirius' hand stop when he sucked hard on Sirius' neck.

"Ah, Remus," Sirius moaned, craning his neck. Remus moved his mouth to suck at another spot, underneath Sirius' ear. He felt himself smile against the soft skin when he heard Sirius voice the filthiest sounds. Remus felt proudness swell in his chest when he realized that he was the one that dragged those words out of Sirius. He had realized that he had _some_ power over Sirius. It wasn't only the other way around like he'd thought for so long.

He stopped sucking on Sirius' neck when he heard Sirius mumble 'Can't take this,' He saw Sirius throw off his robe and scarf before he started tugging Remus' robe off him. Remus helped him with the arms and then they stood there staring into each other's eyes for a second before Sirius threw his arms over Remus' shoulders and captured him in a kiss. Remus hummed into it and felt Sirius doing the same, the vibrations working wonders on Remus' body.

The kiss was slow but not less incredible than their earlier kisses. No, quite the opposite. The kiss made Remus feel secure, safe, and - he didn't dare believe it - loved. He tried to express the love he felt for Sirius in the slow but reassuring swipes of tongue between them. Then he let himself being lowered to the ground, vaguely noticing how they kneaded down on top of Sirius' discarded robe.

The air was cold against them, but Remus was warmed up from inside by Sirius incredible mouth. They kissed and soon they started moving their bodies against each other, chest to chest.

When Remus felt Sirius' leg inch its way between his legs he spread them. He gasped when he felt Sirius' leg press against his crotch. It sent sparks through his body, and he had to brake the kiss to pant heavily into Sirius' mouth. It reminded him of the incident they had in the Potion's classroom a couple of days ago, but this seemed so much different. So much better. And it got better, Remus realized when he felt himself being lowered down to lay on his back with Sirius on top of him.

He felt Sirius swipe his hands over his shirt-clad chest, down over his belly until it rested over Remus' crotch. He felt his breath hitch when Sirius' fingers started working on his belt. He was going to burst from excitement, but then Sirius' fingers stopped. Remus frowned, letting out an impatient grunt.

"Can I?" Sirius asked from where he sat on Remus' thighs. Remus glanced up and met his eyes. He saw that Sirius looked a bit concerned, but mostly as turned on as Remus felt.

Remus felt the familiar warmth in his chest return when he realized that Sirius valued his opinion. He cared about Remus enough to stop and make sure he wanted this as well. Remus smiled at the kind gesture.

"If you don't, I'm gonna," Remus said, voice hoarse and urgent, his playful tone only barely hiding his arousal.

His approval was all Sirius' needed as he immediately started working on Remus' belt. He opened his fly next and then grabbed Remus' trousers and briefs by the hem. With one last check from Remus' he yanked them down. Remus lifted his hips and helped him yank them down to his thighs. It was too cold to discard of them whole.

Remus felt himself sigh in a mixture of relief and shock from the cold when his erection was freed from its cage. He lowered his butt down to the ground and saw his member bounce twice on his belly in the process. Remus heard Sirius gasp and looked up to meet his eyes.

What he saw made his heart jump in his chest. He saw Sirius eye his erection with hunger in his eyes, and then he saw him lick his lips. Remus made a noise from the very back of his throat as he watched Sirius' eyes travel from his groin to Remus' eyes, where he gave him a look of pure lust.

"Ahh," Remus moaned when he felt Sirius wrap his fingers over his shaft and gave it a long stroke.

He closed his eyes and automatically started to thrust up to meet the hand. He bit his lip when he felt the pressure in the low of his stomach built up with every stroke. Jolt after jolt of pleasure surged through his body as Sirius sped on his hand, stroking his cock harder and faster each time.

Soon Remus whined from the sensation as he thrust up to meet Sirius' hand each time. He panted harshly and his body was covered in sweat from the effort. It felt too good and Remus was torn between wanting Sirius to finish him off already or to slow down, so that it would last longer.

But then Remus remembered Sirius. Sirius would need release as well. And wasn't this one of the things he had been longing for since forever? To not only see, but to _feel_ Sirius' own shaft in between his fingers?

Even though Remus wanted to ride Sirius' hand until the end he forced himself to stop thrusting and lay back down on the ground. He felt Sirius' hand slow down do a stop and heard him voice the first vocals of 'what', but he didn't get to finish as Remus threw himself up and reached for Sirius' belt faster than Sirius had time to register.

In a matter of seconds he had loosened the belt and worked on his fly. He grabbed Sirius' trousers and briefs with a firm grip before he started to yank them down. Sirius was quick to realize his intentions and helped him yank his clothes down to his thighs. Sirius let out a low moan when his length was freed from its tight cage and got to meet the air.

Remus' eyes widened when he took in the sight of Sirius' cock in front of him. He felt his own member twitch in excitement from just the mere sight of it.

Carefully he reached his right hand out and slowly, but firmly, gripped it with his fingers. When he heard Sirius' breath hitch when he gave it a squeeze he felt his tentativeness leave him in favor of his urgent desires.

Before any of them had time to register what was going on Remus had started stroking Sirius' erection, up and down, at a fast pace. He pumped him and rejoiced in the lewd noises he drew from Sirius as he worked him with his fingers.

Remus loved the way Sirius started moving his body in time with the strokes, how he panted above him and how he without the slightest trace of embarrassment moaned at every stroke. He had swept his arms over Remus' shoulders as he supported himself in the juncture between Remus' neck and shoulder.

When Remus swiped his thumb over the sensitive head he heard Sirius inhale sharply and he suspected that he was close. Remus could still feel his own pressing matter pulsing in-between his legs, but he couldn't help but to work on Sirius. He loved how he could make the handsome yet cocky boy pant from just his hand.

Remus felt Sirius lower his arms from his back, but before Remus had any time to wonder what he was going to do he felt a strong, firm hand grip his erection in a tightly.

Remus gasped when he felt the hand start stroking him again, hard and fast. He immediately started moving his body to meet the hand in its thrusts.

With one arm he held onto Sirius waist, and with the other he started stroking Sirius' again. They both panted onto each other's necks as they worked themselves closer to the edge.

Just the look of Sirius with his lips swollen, sweaty hair in his eyes and his erection twitching would have been enough to make Remus come on the spot, so the fact that he had Sirius' erection in his hand and that Sirius held onto him made Remus realize he wasn't going to last very long. But it didn't matter.

He felt like he was going crazy from lust, desire and the incredible heat that built up between them. He could hear Sirius panting close to his ear, moaning when Remus' swiped his thumb over the sweet spots.

His heart was pounding like it wanted to jump out of his chest and it felt like all his limbs were on fire. His head was spinning and he was overpowered by the urge to keep going, to keep thrusting until he reached the peak. He didn't think he could've let go even if his life depended on it. It was too good.

Remus felt himself get lost in the pleasure as Sirius' worked him harder and faster with each stroke. In return he worked Sirius' member like mad, both of them getting closer to the edge.

Remus felt the pleasurable warmth build up in the pit of his stomach as his muscles started tensing. He knew he was close, and if Sirius' whining was anything to go by he was as well.

Remus was going to give Sirius one last stroke when he felt something new.

Sirius thrust deeper into Remus' hand, so deep that he ended up pressing his erection against Remus'.

"Ahh," Remus moaned when he saw stars at the contact. He closed his eyes as fireworks exploded through his body, setting his nerve endings on fire. That was all it took as he felt himself reach the peak.

He moaned as the pleasure overtook his body. His limbs turned stiff, warm and soft at the same time as he arched his back. It felt like his head was up with the clouds as he felt Sirius' stroke him to finish.

He basked in the sensation of his powerful orgasm and didn't even notice that he'd spilled all over his shirt, or that Sirius had reached the peak as well.

When he slowly came back to his senses he found himself clinging on to Sirius' that hugged him back tightly.

Remus still panted harshly against Sirius' neck when he felt that his body was exhausted. Everything was sweaty, sticky and now cold when the heated moment left them. Remus slowly, reluctantly, let go of his grip on Sirius and started yanking his trousers back on, but when he glanced down he felt himself blush deeply. There was come all over his shirt, and suddenly he wondered if it was all only from him.

"O-oh, sorry," He heard Sirius mumble, actually sounding a bit embarrassed, before he watched him yank his own pair of trousers up. Remus looked over at his shirt and saw that it was clean. Hm. Had they both spilled over Remus?

"I'll fix it, don't worry," Sirius mumbled, voice slightly hoarse from the extensive moaning. Remus gave him a shy smile as he watched him reach for his wand and cast a cleaning spell on Remus' shirt that looked almost as white as before.

Remus found it hard to meet Sirius' eyes when he had tucked his wand back in his pocket so he stared at his discarded robe. He reached out to tuck it on when he remembered Sirius' robe and glanced down underneath their legs. His eyes widened when he saw Sirius' robe lay there, wrinkled and dirty from more than just the floor. Remus felt his cheeks heat up when he rose up from it and walked to the railing, putting on his robe and scarf in the process.

He saw Sirius bring out his wand to voice another cleaning spell, this time on his robe. He then watched as Sirius put on his robe, scarf and tucked his wand away again. He walked over to where Remus leaned his back on the railing.

Remus thought his body felt funny from where he stood leaned against the railing. His knees were weak, his groin felt warm and sensitive but above all his heart pounded like crazy. It was probably shocked that Remus had finally gotten some action, but Remus couldn't blame it. He was too.

When Sirius positioned himself next to Remus he reached out and took his hand. Remus felt a giddy smile play on his lips as he raised his eyes to look Sirius in the eyes. He saw Sirius look at him with a fond, if not slightly insecure, expression.

Remus wasn't sure if he dared to speak. He didn't want to break the magic of the moment, or dare break the spell that seemed to have spread around them during their act right then. So instead of talking he leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on Sirius' lips. When they parted they both wore a set of shy smiles on their lips. Remus' brain still had trouble to process everything and how much that had estimated in such a short amount of time, but he still understood that Sirius was being honest. Remus thought knew that Sirius didn't just fool around.

"I-" Remus started, not sure what to say but feeling that he should say something considering what they'd just done.

"You," Sirius continued, teasing grin on his face.

"Are beautiful." Sirius placed a quick kiss on the tip of Remus' nose and Remus felt the affection in his chest swell. He didn't think that but he still felt a lump of love get stuck in his throat, making it impossible for him to argue.

"And I," Sirius placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Love you." He leaned back to gaze longingly at Remus that felt his heart stop.

"What?" He rasped out, disbelief thick in his voice. But he still felt a burning happiness in his chest overwhelm him. Was he serious?

"I. Love. You." Sirius repeated, slower this time.

When Sirius leaned in to kiss Remus passionately Remus thought that he perhaps Sirius really was being serious. Perhaps he loved him back. But still, he had some trouble believing him. After all, why would anyone love him?

When they broke the kiss Remus didn't know whether to pour his heart out or keep it to himself. But then he realized that this was his one and only chance. If he wanted Sirius for real he would have to reveal what he was feeling.

"I love you," He whispered back, eyes pleading as he tried to show the strong affection he felt for Sirius.

"Nice." Sirius whispered before he smiled shyly and brought a hand up to ruffle his hair, an act adopted from James.

Remus found himself chuckling at the display in front of him. But then he stopped when he felt Sirius fingers snake their way to his stomach where they started tickling him.

"N-no Sirius! N-not again!" He laughed, crying out long laughs. Sirius didn't retrieve his hands, instead he managed to sneak them underneath the shirt to tickle the bare skin, making Remus laugh even more.

Sirius laughed as he brought his hands to the waist, making Remus squirm. It wasn't funny, but Remus couldn't stop laughing.

Then he got an idea.

"Ahh," He stage-moaned, successfully making Sirius stop in his tracks as he voiced an audible gulp.

"Wha-" Sirius started but was interrupted by his own laughter when Remus tickled him back

"A ha ha, M-moony-y!" He howled in between laughs. Remus only smirked in response. This was what he deserved.

Remus continued to tickle Sirius until he had tears running down his cheeks as well. Then they decided on a ceasefire before they started to head back to the dorm hand in hand. After adjusting their clothes to look remotely okay they walked out the door from the Astronomy Tower and headed down. They planned on catching up on some quality cuddling, or perhaps explore each other's bodies some more when they reached the dorm. Remus hadn't decided yet but already felt excitement churn in his belly.

On their way Remus made sure to properly cover his neck with his scarf as he'd felt a couple of hickeys raising there. He felt embarrassed and tried to cover the one he'd inflicted on Sirius as well, but Sirius had swatted his hands away and proceeded to let his scarf hang loosely around his shoulders, making the hickeys very well visible. Remus didn't understand why Sirius thought they were cool but he stopped trying to cover them and resumed to walking down the endless flight of stairs.

When they walked past a Slytherin student on the ninth floor Remus remembered how he had been petrified and left in the cold Slytherin dungeon, now almost a week ago. It felt like an eternity had passed since then, especially when he felt Sirius' warm hand in his.

Remus had hated to be toyed with like that, but now he probably wouldn't have to deal with Rosier and his gang anymore. Unless they wanted a fight with any of them, because there was no way Remus was going to back down from a fight anymore. And something told him that Sirius wouldn't leave him alone often enough to be able to get into trouble as well.

Remus frowned when he thought back at the evening in the alcove. Somehow it felt like it played a role in the fact that he now walked hand in hand with Sirius. And yes, he had despised the fact that he'd lay helpless there awaiting his death more or less, but if it had meant that he got to get together with Sirius he would do it again, without a doubt. He would do anything if it meant to be able to be with Sirius.

His Sirius.

Remus stopped on the landing and turned his head to the side. He tugged on Sirius' hand until he looked at him and then Remus glanced into his eyes. He saw Sirius' beautiful grey eyes dance with silver in the lights from the chandeliers on the walls as he smiled fondly at him. Remus felt his own lips curl into a smile as well. His chest constricted from the extent of love he felt for the handsome boy in front of him. He was too beautiful, too perfect, too brilliant.

He saw Sirius do his award winning crooked grin with a wink and Remus felt his cheeks heat up and chest jolt from the extent of the love that pooled in his chest.

He watched as Sirius leaned in to whisper something in his ear and felt a shiver run down his spine when he felt Sirius' warm breath ghost over his sensitive ear.

He could almost hear Sirius smile as he parted his lips.

"I love you," Sirius told him.

This time he believed him.

 

**_THE END_ **


End file.
